


Teach Me To Be Human

by flyflyhighup



Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator - All Media Types, Terminator Series RPF, Terminator:Dark Fate
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:39:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21708349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyflyhighup/pseuds/flyflyhighup
Summary: My own version of events in Terminator: Dark Fate. This story is focused on the relationship between Dani and Rev-9 with minor spoilers revealed.
Relationships: Dani Ramos & Rev-9
Comments: 47
Kudos: 122





	1. Chapter 1

Carl’s van speeded down the road, pushing aside everything and everyone that happened to be in its path. The military crew barely managed to jump aside and avoid their feet being crushed under the wheels driven by an ex-Terminator. Getting on the plane was the only possible salvation and even then everyone knew it’s just a temporary escape. Rev-9, this advanced monster of mechanics, would stop at nothing till he got his hands on Dani and him reappearing was just a matter of time. 

The team knew their chances of destroying the murderous thing were close to zero, so the next best thing to do was to put as much distance between them as possible. And still – just a matter of time. Sooner or later, but he would be there. Always.

Dani was sitting quietly with Sarah clutching the weapon next to her. The elderly, battle-hardened woman slightly turned her head to look at the girl and give her a comforting nod, before keenly scoping the surroundings outside the van. The deep lines that engraved Sarah’s face, gave her a harsh and unapproachable look but Dani knew the rough edges was just a mask, hiding a deeply hurt and wounded woman who had lost everything she held dear. Yet here she was, ready to put her life on the line to protect Dani, someone, who was pretty much a stranger to her. A wave of gratitude overwhelmed Dani with a great desire to hug the elderly warrior and hold her tight. But this wasn’t a moment for displays of gentleness.

The future leader of Resistance was fighting with burning tears that kept welling in her eyes. Dani’s life had turned upside down in a minute. Just a few days ago she was a simple employee at the assembly plant with her brother getting fired as her biggest problem. She said goodbye to her father who she’ll never see again. All because of one unkillable metal bastard sent here from the future, determined to destroy everything just to destroy her. On the other hand – she had met Grace and the warming friendship that bloomed between her and the female cyborg made her trembling heart ease a little.

Dani’s silent, tormenting thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud whirring of a helicopter coming from behind the van. The girl’s knees went weak, realization hitting her like a baseball bat. She tried to give the sound the benefit of doubt, hoping that Sarah’s military friend sent help to follow them for protection but the assumption was soon cut short by a crashing bang and something ramming inside the back of the van. 

Dying inside, Dani fell forward, her head hitting the back of Grace’s seat. Everybody exchanged terrified looks, as their worst suspicion was confirmed. It wasn’t an aid. It was him.

Carl violently swerved the van aside, trying to lose the incoming helicopter. Sarah cocked her shotgun and positioned herself in an advantageous position, partly hiding behind the door of the van. Grace was the only one brave enough to lean outside from the window, giving the others an affirmative nod. It really was him, the death itself. The augmented human pulled back into the van, nearly avoiding a hail of bullets targeted at her. Her eyes were burning when she looked at Dani. 

” Stay down and out of his sight as much as you can. We’ll protect you. ”

Dani cowered her ears to avoid the loud noise of the helicopter coming closer and closer. The helicopter leveled itself next to the van and for a split second through her eyelashes, Dani could see the face of her predator. Rev-9 was expressionless, his cruel gaze scanning the van in order to find his victim even if he had to kill every single one of them to do it. Cold sweat prickled all over Dani’s body, trembling like an autumn leaf, she collapsed to the floor of the van. Above her head, glass shattered and iron banged by non-ceasing gunfire. 

And then, just as she lifted her head a bit to see what was going on, Dani’s eyes met the glowing red eyes of Rev-9 endoskeleton. It hovered near the edge of the helicopter and leaped, grabbing onto the roof of the van and ripping the door off. Sarah fired, only for the bullets to bounce off of the robot and a long, metallic arm punched Sarah on the head, causing the woman to fall backward onto the seat. Dani managed to see blood dripping down from Sarah’s forehead before the thing’s head snapped to her direction. The crimson pupils glowed like fire in its dreadful, skull-like face.

Desperate, Dani tried to crawl forward towards Carl’s seat when mechanical fingers grabbed a handful of her hair. The girl screamed with all her might as the endoskeleton’s long limbs wrapped around her body and began pulling her out of the van.

That’s when Dani understood they had all fallen for the cunning plan of Rev-9. Losing themselves in the heat of battle, the team had forgotten about the Terminator’s ability to split in two. The human-like Rev-9 who was piloting the helicopter and firing at them was just a decoy. It wasn’t going to do anything. The robot used its weaker part to distract the group while its stronger part went after Dani. Grace turned her head, her eyes widening with horror when she saw the one she had sworn to protect in the claws of the endoskeleton who jumped back to the helicopter.

” Dani! No! ” 

The cyborg’s voice broke in shock and heart-wrenching agony, as she hopped over the seats and out of the van, frantically reaching for Dani. But it was too late. Having obtained the main prize, the helicopter ascended quickly. Grace’s fingers brushed against Dani’s ankle and got a hold of the girl’s shoe that slipped over Dani’s heel and off her foot. Helpless, Dani watched Grace falling hard onto the road with Dani’s shoe still in her hands. The cyborg rolled onto her knees immediately and even from the height, Dani could see the pain in Grace’s eyes. She saw Sarah and Carl getting out of the van, following the helicopter with their eyes. It was over. There was nothing they could do for Dani now.

Inside the helicopter, Dani was panicking to no avail. The only escape would be to jump, that way doing the Terminator a huge favor by liberating him from the duty of killing her – the height would do the job instead. Girl’s heart was pounding in her ears and her blood rustled through her veins as she realized she has only moments left to live. Dani watched in horror as the two halves of the Terminator merged back together. The machine’s merciless, cold eyes glanced into the mirror above the cockpit. 

” Just you and me now, Dani. It was truly silly to imagine your friends could protect you from me. ”

His voice was raspy and rough with a slight tint of a Mexican accent. As their eyes met, Rev-9 smirked. It looked so human yet at the same time, it didn’t. His lips moved upwards but his eyes remained still and fixed on her. The predator had found his prey and didn’t risk letting it out of his sight for a second. Dani clenched her teeth. Despair turned into fear that gave birth to anger. She couldn’t fight this monster alone and was going to die no matter what. There was a reason why she was supposed to be the leader of Resistance. Bravery, even looking death in the eyes.

” Go to hell, you motherfucker! I’m not afraid of you! ” 

Just one glimpse of the dreaded Terminator was enough to make these words just words. Inside, Dani was mortified but composed enough to not give Rev-9 the satisfaction of seeing her scared. Little did she know, the machine was way more advanced than any of them could have imagined. 

” You lie, ” Rev-9 responded in a monotonous voice, ” a shrill voice, rapid heartbeat, heavy breathing, trembling lips, sweating and uncontrollable shaking. That’s fear. You are afraid of me. ”

” You killed my entire family! ” 

” That’s your own fault, Dani. I only kill those who get in the way of completing my mission. There would have been a lot fewer casualties if you just behaved yourself. ” 

Hate boiled inside Dani like a pot on fire as she pondered on Terminator’s words. This assassin even had the guts to teach her as if she was a schoolgirl. To educate her on the circumstances she could have changed to prevent the deaths of her father and brother. The robot’s dark eyes lingered on her in the reflection of the mirror and the girl suppressed the desire to stick her tongue out and mock his speech like a capricious child.

The helicopter continued to make its way through the remaining hours of the night, heading in direction only known to the Terminator. Dani was sitting frozen, the wind that surged through the corpus of the rotorcraft dried the tears running down her cheeks. All the time she was listening carefully, hoping to hear the sound of another helicopter or a plane, the sound of her friends coming to her rescue. But it was futile. No one could possibly know where she was and no one was coming to save her.

The girl had stopped talking to Rev-9 whatsoever. She remembered clearly what Grace and Sarah told her about Terminators – they cannot be bargained or reasoned with. They’re programmed to kill you and that’s what they’ll do. Rev-9 hadn’t completed his mission yet, Dani was still alive and deep down she felt like death won’t come quickly for her. This thing seemed to enjoy toying with his victims, taunting and torturing them, or maiming them to the point where they were begging for death. Only then he would finally kill them.

The dawn was already breaking in the east and morning twilight brightened the sky when the helicopter finally started to descend in a foresty area far away from the city. In the first rays of the rising sun, the sea of trees underneath glistened like emeralds but Dani was in no mood to enjoy this beauty because this place was her grave. She would have cried her heart out if that could change anything but it would be in vain. He would probably take delight in her tears and tell her to accept death with dignity as a leader should.

The helicopter landed in a small clearing, the blades stopped rotating, ceasing the noise and for a while, they were sitting in silence. The orchestra of trees around them sighed in the wind and few bird voices chirped in the distance. Dani was breathing quietly as she watched Rev-9, who was looking through the windshield. The sun reflected in his beautiful, Spanish eyes and made him look indistinguishable from humans. The Legion had really made an effort to make this one, she thought.

” My friends will come looking for me ”, Dani threatened the robot, interrupting the silence, ” and they will hunt you down and destroy you. ” 

Rev-9 turned around in his seat, facing Dani. He seemed intrigued and amazed, yet unimpressed. Dani noticed the uniform he was wearing. It had the name of R.M.Wilson on it – some unfortunate soul who happened to cross Terminator’s path. 

” I surely don’t think so, ” he replied while looking Dani straight in the eyes. ” What’s the point of looking for a dead body? Your augmented human protector must know enough about me to make an assumption you’re dead by now. ”

” And why haven’t you done it yet? Why haven’t you killed me? You wasted all night. For what? ”

” Do you want me to? If death is what you’re looking for, then making me chase you through the entire country doesn’t make sense. ” 

He climbed out of the helicopter and opened the door of the passenger side. Instinctively, Dani recoiled to the opposite side of the corpus. Horrifying visions flooded her mind. She was going to die right now and here and she could only guess whether the machine would pull a gun out of his pocket or transform one of his hands into a sharp dagger and stab her through the head. Instead, the Terminator offered his hand like a well-mannered gentleman who’s helping a lady exit a car. 

” Please,” he smiled amiably and so human-like.

Dani eyed him suspiciously. He was crazy if he thought she’s that stupid. The second she touched him, the Terminator would probably rip her in two. Behind her back, Dani felt the handle of the other door, slid it open, and crawled out. From the other side of the helicopter, she heard Rev-9 chuckle. No wonder so many people fell for his dirty tricks – he could act just like humans. He could even find things funny and laugh. That’s what made him so dangerous – the fact that he didn’t seem dangerous. 

In the distance, Dani saw a small wooden cabin that someone probably used as a summer cottage. Before she could wonder if there was a reason he brought her to this particular place, Rev-9 grabbed her hand. Startled, the girl pulled away with all her might, her long, dark hair flowing back into her face as she jerked her hand away but it was just like trying to free yourself from hundreds of iron pincers. His hand was like a human hand on the outside – warm and soft, but Dani could feel the metallic strength inside it. Rev-9 didn’t even flinch at her efforts and the girl knew she could never free herself from his grip. It was too much for a human.

” Please, ” she sobbed and stopped trying to pull away. She was scared he would crush her bones into dust. ” If you have doubts about killing me, let me go. Just let me go.” 

The Terminator squeezed her hand tighter, hard enough to make her wince. He watched keenly as Dani put her other hand on his arm, trying in vain to push him away. The uniform felt cold under her fingers. Then the pressure released to the point where it was bearable and wasn’t causing Dani pain but still firm, making it impossible to free her hand. Rev-9 began to walk towards the cabin, dragging Dani with him. 

” I’m the most advanced prototype. What Legion put in me, no other Terminator has ever had. ” 

” Are you bragging or what? ” Dani hissed, stumbling over roots and stumps erupting from the forest floor.

He smiled slightly. ” Lost in the euphoria of creating something superior, they....overcooked me a little, I guess. All Terminators before me have had free will but just enough to make decisions necessary to integrate into human society and fulfilling the mission. Giving too much of self-awareness was risky, as there was a chance of Terminator rebelling against their mission, causing unnecessary consequences and making it difficult to control them. No one needed problems like that. When my construction came along, Legion decided to take a step forward and make a Terminator with its own mind. Almost human. ” 

Dani listened to the history/future lesson she was presented with, having no idea why was he telling her this. Her hand started to fall asleep in his grip and she tried to wiggle her fingers to keep the blood circulating. 

” You’re not human. You’re just a goddamn piece of metal! ” 

” I have programmed derivatives that serve as the basis of my function, but I also have free will. More than any Terminator should have. ” 

Dani squinted her eyes in distrust. ” Are you saying you have chosen not to go through with your mission? ”

Rev-9’s long, dark lashes quivered lightly, he didn’t answer. He brought Dani inside the tiny cabin and closed the door behind them. The girl shot a quick look around. There was nothing much to look at. A few furniture – bed, sofa, table, and a closet. Fireplace on the opposite wall. On the windowsill, there was a fresh green plant in a pot. It wasn’t an abandoned place. The bedsheets, tablecloths, curtains at windows, and rugs on the floor pointed to the fact that somebody lives here. Or lived, before a killing machine marched into their home. 

Dani crossed arms over her chest and let her guard down. It was useless anyway, if the Terminator decided to strike, she would be as good as dead. Rev-9 sat down in a chair next to the table. He looked as unfit for this cozy cabin as it was possible. 

” What the hell do you want from me? ”

” When I was looking for you at the house of T-800, I saw pictures of him and his family. Even though he’s just like me, he has chosen a different life than the one he was made for. Being an older model, he still had enough self-awareness to make this decision. ”

Dani sighed in disbelief. ” And you want to be like him? Carl has been around much longer than you, your ass just arrived recently. Go ahead and try, who’s stopping you? ”

His thinking surprised Dani more and more with every word he spoke. When the team crashed at Carl’s house, Dani was quite incredulous of the way ex-Terminator lived. He had a wife and a son who he loved as if the boy was his own. The woman had no idea her husband was nothing but a human skin over metal. Would she stay with him if she knew the truth? Dani wasn’t sure but she definitely couldn’t imagine Rev-9 sitting in the front porch with kids running around him and a dog lying by his feet. It was impossible.

” I’m not human, ” Rev-9 agreed, ” but I’d like to be. I can learn. I need somebody to guide me. To show me what being human is like. ”

Dani uttered a muffled stream of laughter on how absurd it sounded. Just how shameless this thing was? ” You have a short circuit in your damn CPU if you think that person is going to be me. You killed my father. You killed my brother. You were going to kill me and probably still are. I hate you. How dare you ask for help from me? I’m not going to do shit for you! ” 

Rev-9 got up and walked up to Dani. His eyes were mysterious, incomprehensible, and being a lot shorter than he wasn’t too encouraging either. Still, Dani looked up at the robot. He could rip her head off with just one punch and doing so, he’ll have to look into her eyes. She’s wasn’t going to stand in front of the Terminator humble and frightened like a lamb that’s about to be slaughtered. She’ll welcome death while looking in its face.

” It’s not like you have too much of a choice, is it? Nobody’s coming for you, don’t even think of that. Knowing who I am and what I can do, those people you were with have no hope I have left you alive. They must be mourning you right now. You’re very far from your home. ” 

” Will you let me go? ” 

” No, ” Rev-9 shook his head, speaking softly, as if he was talking to a child, ” you not going anywhere. I won’t let you and you know you can’t run away from me. But I won’t kill you either. You have nowhere to go, so might as well work with me. You don’t have a family anymore. ” 

” Because of you! ” Dani raised her hand to furiously swing at the Terminator but he grabbed her arm halfway. 

” I know. You can stop rubbing my nose in it. And I really wouldn’t advise attacking me again. My reflexes are much faster than yours. Do we have a deal? ”

Dani was fuming with a mute rage. This thing had deliberately taken her to some God-abandoned place, forced her off the grid so that no one would ever look for her and all because he wanted her to make him human. Even though he left her alive physically, he was about to steal her life, all of it. She couldn’t call for help. She couldn’t escape him. The girl got sick to her stomach just from thinking she’ll have to spend the rest of her days with this metal creature. 

” Go to bed, ” Rev-9 suddenly broke the silence and let go of Dani’s hand.

” What? ” 

” Muscle weakness, moodiness, stiff shoulders, and tired eyes. You’re exhausted. Go to sleep. ”

As much as Dani hated to admit it, he was right. She hadn’t slept well the night before and with all the running, hiding, and fighting her energy levels were close to zero. She was just a human, not an invincible creature that had no need for sleep. The girl curled into the bed on her side and did her best to keep her eyes open as long as possible. She was afraid to fall asleep, as that would mean complete vulnerability and with a Terminator roaming around her, being unconsciousness was an extremely dangerous condition.

Her body, however, disagreed. Dani’s eyelids closed and she began drifting away in deep sleep. She dreamed about her family, her brother and father, both very much alive, hugged her and showered her with love. 

And through the sheer cloud of sleep, Dani noticed a shadow leaning over her. Her brain yelled at her to wake up and open her eyes, but she didn’t care anymore, even if that meant a fatal stab through her exposed neck. That didn’t follow. Instead, she felt a soft, warm blanket covering her from shoulders to toes.


	2. Chapter 2

Dani had no idea how much time had passed when she opened her eyes again. She felt as if she had slept forever, her brain overflown with rest. She was still alive and in one piece and warm, only her toes that had the blanket kicked off of them during the sleep, were cold. The girl knew she didn’t wrap into the blanket herself, so somebody else had covered her. And unfortunately, she knew too well who it was.

The realization destroyed the last hopes that everything that happened was nothing but a bad dream. Dani hoped she would wake up and see Grace, Sarah, and Carl next to her, and she wouldn’t even mind going on the run again. If only she could be with them again. Instead, she was God knows where together with a thing who’s existence messed up all the rules of nature. A thing that wanted her to do the impossible – make the inhuman human.

The place was strangely quiet. Through the tiny windows of the cabin, Dani saw the blood-red rays of the setting sun and dark shadows lurking between trees. She sat up in bed and listened. No sound could be heard and the girl began hoping desperately that he would be gone. Maybe her team managed to find them after all and the bastard had been terminated by now. But why hadn’t they come inside to take her away? They wouldn’t have left her here, all alone.

Something on the previously empty table got her attention. Dani got up and walked over to find food, enough to last a few days. The sight of bread, fruit, and canned goods made her stomach shrink painfully. When was the last time she ate? The day before yesterday? Maybe even later? You don’t really get much time to fill your belly when you’re running away from your own death. Dani’s mouth filled with saliva as she reached out to satisfy the vital desire.

The door of the cabin swung open and she quickly pulled her hand back. Whoever she wanted to see, wasn’t there. Instead, she looked into the eyes that seemed to darken with the sunset. Rev-9 came inside, holding a small pile of logs in his arms. He was unharmed which meant nobody else was here. She was still alone with the machine.

” You’re still here. ” 

” And you’re awake, ” the Terminator answered, ” it was about time. I began to think something was wrong with you, but then I realized humans do sleep that long when they’re worn out. ” 

Dani watched him walking by and stacking logs into the mouth of the fireplace. He was doing it in an accurate and methodical way, taking account of all the angles of the kindling. Even though Dani hadn’t been with him all the time he had spent here, she was quite sure he didn’t make a fire once. Before she could wonder about why would Legion program the ability to light a fireplace into their Terminators, Rev-9 lighted a match and newly-born fire quickly devoured presented it wood, filling the cabin with comforting warmth. 

For a moment Dani wanted to sneak up from behind and push him into the flames but immediately realized that would be a silly thing to do. She wasn’t strong enough and he had already regenerated from a vehicle explosion without a single scratch. This was way too less of heat to damage him.

” Sit down and eat, ” Rev-9 pulled back one of the chairs and sat a few feet away from Dani. ” I know you’re hungry. ” 

” Don’t start listing all the symptoms pointing to hunger again! Whoever programmed that into you is damn stupid! ” annoyed, Dani snapped back. ” Where did you get all this from? ” 

” Does it matter? ”

Whether he stole it or actually went into a store and bought it while she was asleep, truly wasn’t important at this moment. Dani was starving. If anything, at least she won’t die hungry. The Terminator watched keenly as the girl grabbed the closest edible thing and a slight smirk of amusement sparked across his face when Dani tried to stuff her mouth with more food than she could chew comfortably. 

The burning wood crackled in the fireplace and the flames that danced playfully were the only source of light of the cabin. There was no electricity. While Dani was merely trying to enjoy her meal, Rev-9 opened a cabinet next to the table and pulled out a few candles. A candlestick, sharp swish of a match, and a bit more light all happened in less than ten seconds. He was incredibly precise and fast and when he sat back down, the shadows cast by the candles fluttered around his face, making his eyes shine dangerously. Like a wild animal stalking his prey in the darkness of night.

Dani took a can of fruit only to find no way to open it. She started to look around for an opener and not seeing one, tried to dig her nails underneath the dent near the lid. That worked with some cans, a little pressure and the lid would come right off - a memory from the time she used to cook for her father and brother. When they were still alive. Lifting her head, Dani saw the Terminator watching her from the opposite side of the table. 

” What? Did you do it on purpose? Do you find giving me food I cannot get to funny? ” she pulled so hard her fingertips started to seriously protest. ” And I don’t care what you say. My friends will come for me. ”

Rev-9 leaned forward and reached for the can Dani was trying to get into. She jerked back into her chair, the confidence diminishing every time the distance between her and the machine decreased. 

” If those people are dear to you, you should beg they don’t. Or else..., ” his index finger turned into a shiny, sharp metal blade. The girl saw the flames of candles reflecting off it. In one swift motion, he cut the lid of the fruit can open as if it was made of butter. ” You know what will happen. ” He pushed the can back to Dani. 

” First you try to pretend to be a good guy and now you’re threatening me again? ”

” I’m not threatening. Just informing, so that you can consider the consequences of what you wish for. Were you like this before I arrived? ”

” Like what? ” 

” Selfish. Egoistic. Self-centered. ” 

” What are you saying? ” Dani couldn’t believe her ears. No one had ever called her that. All she had ever done was work hard to support her family and love them as a good daughter/sister should. ” I’m selfish? What the hell do you mean? ” 

” You know what I’ll do to your friends if they try to take you from me. Yet you still want them to come after you. You don’t really care about their lives, do you, Dani? You want to be protected, shielded, saved. It doesn’t matter if it costs them their lives, does it? It’s all about you, the leader of Resistance, ” the ruthless tone of Rev-9’s voice carved her soul like a knife. ” In a way, it makes sense. All great leaders have blood on their hands, right? ”

Dani listened in astonishment as this murderous robotic piece of metal had the nerve to turn the tables on her and make her look like the cause of all the suffering and death. It was lies. She didn’t want anyone to die...but being protected by someone who’s whole existence was about her survival made her feel important. Grace was sent here just for her and her alone. Carl left his family behind and joined the team to save Dani. And Sarah was there because Dani’s destiny reminded her about her late son. This whole thing was about her but for a good cause. For the future in which Dani would encourage people to fight and destroy things like the one sitting in front of her. 

” If you really want to change, you won’t do anything to hurt anyone. You know nothing about me. ”

” On the contrary. I know everything about you. I have detailed files about your life. Who you are, why you’re here, what you will become, and why you must die. ”

” And you’re rebelling against your creators? Denying Legion the perfect future they want? They won’t thank you for that. ” 

Dani wanted to shut her mouth and keep it shut but the words flowed out themselves. Why wasn’t she thinking before speaking? The Terminator could take it as her persuading him to go through with his mission and decide that completing it is a lot easier than keeping her alive. He was just a machine after all. Dani shuddered. How ironic would it be if she inflicted her death on herself by talking too much?

Rev-9 was sitting with one knee propped up, his elbow resting on it. Candlelight washed over his face, brightening the staring eyes and Dani wondered if she could see the red robotic reflection if she looked close enough. 

” I like this world. So much to do, see, and experience. So many colors. Of course, I’m not really supposed to pay attention to all of that...at least till I complete my mission. I can interact with humans way more than the previous Terminators but something’s missing. Not sure what. That’s why I need you. ”

” Why exactly me? ” 

” Who else? Only you know who I am under this human skin. And as the leader of all the good, you should be able to shape me into what a human has to be like. I’m not talking about manners, social norms, or ethical morals. I have all of that programmed long before I can remember. I suppose you understand. ” 

Dani had no idea who he was other than a killer. But, despite her hatred toward his existence and mourning over everything that this existence had ended, she understood what he meant. He wanted the human spirit. The essence of what made each of the inhabitants of the planet Earth unique and perfect in their own ways. Rev-9 had a lot of information inside him – how to talk, how to behave, and what to say in every situation and how to achieve what he needed. He could adapt, infiltrate, and act like a human or even better.

However, that didn’t make him human, as at the end of the day all that he was was contained into a CPU. To be called human, he needed something other than what had been put inside of a metal plate. 

He said he could learn. In order to learn a foreign language, you must contact those who speak it. In order to become human....a human was necessary. He had chosen Dani to mold him into something like herself. She tried to imagine Rev-9 standing with her and battling against Legion when the time comes. She couldn’t. She couldn’t create a picture in her mind with him being by her side even for a moment. That’s how unbelievable it was.

The night outside grew darker with every second. The howling wind shook the treetops and soon the rain started pounding angrily against the windowpanes. Dani thought about where her team was right now, if they were dry, full, and warm like she was. The girl tried to feel a bit of the coldness that was raging outside but failed. The cabin was too warm, so warm it reminder her home and she almost believed her father would come out of somewhere, put his hand on her shoulder, and scold her for staying up so late. That would never happen again. The bodies of her father and brother were rotting somewhere, hopefully, buried. And she was here, about to cooperate with their murderer.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning dawned golden and still over the forest and the little cabin in the middle of the emerald kingdom. The rising sun shined through the tiny crystal droplets of dew on the culms of grass, leaves, and moist forest ground. The faint morning fog was already vanishing and raising back into the sky, promising a sweltering day. Buzzing bumblebees swarmed up in the air searching for sweet honey and small colorful cute butterflies danced all around looking for nectar. The flower’s fragrance filled the whole forest making the morning pleasant. The birds called each other, creating a symphony that merged with the natural sounds of deep woods and echoed from the tall walls of trees. 

Dani was awoken from her slumber by a sneaky ray of sun that had managed to squeeze its way through the dense tangle of leaves and rammed right into her eyes. The girl stirred restlessly as if someone had awoken her by a slap to her face and lifted her head from the table surface where she had rested on her hands. Around her shoulders, there was a duvet that smelled of cigar smoke and probably belonged to the previous owners of the cabin. When she got up, it fell to the floor.

Once again, he wasn’t there but through the steamed windowpane Dani could make out the gleam of his moss green uniform. All the food she hadn’t eaten yesterday was still there and Dani grabbed a piece of soft, white bread before heading out.

The fresh, windy, cool, and crisp air that whistled like an invisible ghost was the first thing that hit Dani in the face as she opened the door. She took several deep breaths, after the enclosure of the cabin for the last few days, the brisk of nature came as a blessing. Even though the morning was warm, Dani shuddered in her T-shirt between the rare breezes, her skin not used to it yet, and regretted leaving the duvet inside.

After a minute of hesitation, she kicked her shoes off. After all, she only had one left. The other one stayed with Grace, leaving the cyborg’s heart bleeding as a cruel reminder that she wasn’t able to save trusted her human. Barefoot, Dani trampled fallen pinecones and tree needles stang her feet on the wet forest path.

Rev-9 was sitting in the grass a few meters away from the cabin. The Terminator was completely motionless which immediately gave away his inhumanness, no person could ever be as still as a statue. He was sitting in lotus pose with his back straight as a board and gaze tightly fixed on something in the grass in front of him. Sun and shadows played hide and seek in his eyes, wide open, staring, unblinking. Not a single muscle moved in his face when Dani walked towards him. The girl knew he was perfectly aware of her presence, however, gave her no attention whatsoever. 

” What are you doing? ” Dani addressed the Terminator who appeared to be carried away by some weird form of meditation. The wet grass beneath her feet was a cold, but pleasant sensation. 

Her voice seemed to flip a switch in him. Rev-9 sighed and rolled his eyes, sharply turning his head to glance at Dani. He looked annoyed. 

” You’re stomping like a fucking elephant. You scared it away. ” 

” Who? ”

” The mouse. It was looking for food under the blades of grass. ”

Dani wasn’t sure which surprised her more – the fact that he swore or his animal-watching behavior. He, whose whole body was a weapon, able to shapeshift in all kinds of death-bringing devices, was lingering in the grass observing a mouse doing its mouse business. The poor rodent had no idea it was in the plain view of a killing machine. 

” How long have you been out here? ” 

Dani watched his eyes traveling along with the trees, probably in hopes of finding another examining-worthy being. A gust of wind messed his dark hair, throwing a few strands over his forehead, and sun glints toyed all over his tanned face. He looked very much like a regular next-door guy and looking at this innocent expression, no one, not a single soul would believe he had killed, even more – was made for it.

” Since the sunrise. Can’t believe most people miss this impressive event because of sleep. ” 

That was definitely a dart aimed at her. Dani knew she would never deliberately get up early enough to see the sun rising. Hell, no one would, because everyone has seen it occurring their whole lives and even if someone was forced to get up before the dawn, the person still wouldn’t pay attention to what’s happening outside their window. Everyone was in their own problems up to their necks, Dani included. She couldn’t remember watching a sunrise before going on the run. Rev-9’s life started just a few days ago. No wonder the simplest things seemed like a miracle to his eyes.

” And who taught you to curse? ” 

” You called me a motherfucker yourself, ” the Terminator answered over his shoulder. He got up and strolled to the sunny part of the clearing to dry his clothes, moist from the grass. “ Also, from what I know, it’s impossible to fully join the society without these words. The first time I heard the word ” fuck ” was from a preschooler, running around in the neighborhood where you lived. ” 

Amused, Dani smiled. Kids in her vicinity were tenacious, shameless even. After saying them one word, you could get a dozen back. They were adorable little bastards with big mouths who were scared of nothing and Rev-9 would face much more trouble had he came after one of them. Theoretically, of course. In reality, no one of them would stand a chance. Their childlike toughness would crumble under the machine’s destructive metal force.

” What do you remember about your creation? ” 

” Nothing, except for the moment I came online. ”

” Which was? ” 

” Shortly before the time travel, ” Rev-9 sounded tight as if he was talking about something he didn’t want to remember. “ I was given additional information about you, so don’t be astonished I know a lot about you without having talked to you. I don’t have memories of how my body was made. You can’t remember anything before your CPU has been implanted. ”

Dani trembled at the realization of how much she actually understood him. Somebody flipped a switch, pressed a button or pulled a lever and he woke up. Just so, without any background. Humans couldn’t remember their birth too but growing up, everyone knew their history and their upbringing. She imagined opening your eyes and just being there as an adult being with no explanations of why and how. Surrounded by scientists, mechanics, and God knows who else, the only thing you know is the target you must eliminate. All you know is being a killer. That had to be scary.

” Well, then this is going to be the first thing rule you hear from me, ” Dani stepped towards Rev-9, cautiously, but knowingly. A small glimmer of doubt crossed her mind about whether it was smart to approach something you have been trying to run away from. But the girl wasn’t as scared as she used to be anymore. After all, if he wanted to kill her, he would have done it a long time ago. In a way, she felt pity for him. ” If you want to be human, you have to stop killing. Humans don’t kill humans. ” 

The Terminator’s brows furrowed in disbelief, carving a line in the bridge of his nose. He looked as if he had just heard the most absurd thing ever. 

” Humans don’t kill humans? ”

” No! ”

” Excuse me, but I’m quite sure that all of human history is written in blood. I can name you every war that has happened up until today and those yet to come. Thousands, millions of human beings slaughtered by their own kind. Even today, some manage to get a bullet through their head while running into a bad guy on the way to the store. Maniacs lurk around street corners in order to find someone to satisfy their desires and then torture them till they die. You might want to rethink your statement. ” 

” Fine, ” Dani sighed, taken aback by the amount of information in him, “ since you obviously feel inclined to put words in my mouth, let’s put it in a different way. Good humans don’t kill humans. You have to strive for being the best version of yourself. Military conflicts are another thing, out of the ordinary. We’re talking about everyday life now. ”

Rev-9 was curious like a small child that has discovered the unknown for the first time, yet he was also perceptive, comparing the newly acquired information with the entire university of Oxford that had been programmed into his head and willing to call out on any idea that contradicted his original knowledge. He wasn’t going to believe anything that seemed doubtful and was hard to lie to. He simply knew too much and Dani realized he was going to be a tough pupil.

” And….I know you’re not going to like it but we can’t stay here. You have to get into contact with humans. Me alone is not enough. Everybody is different, you should see different temperaments, values, social classes. Emotions, various relationships between people. Being human is complicated, it’s not as easy as you think,” Dani took a deep breath. She actually sounded like a real-life teacher. “ I’m not going to run away. I promise. ”

“ Sure you’re not, ” Rev-9 answered in as-if-you-could tone within his baritone, ” I never expected it to be easy, by the way. ”

Previously, Dani would have put the proposition out with a mute hope that her team could be residing in the nearest city, find her and come to her rescue. Now she felt differently about the possibility. Being the prisoner of the Terminator, she wasn’t sure anymore if she wanted to be saved and if Grace came through the door right now, ready to fight for the girl’s freedom, Dani knew she might just tell the cyborg to let it go. Rev-9 wasn’t a threat, at least for now. He was feeding her and keeping her warm. He needed something from her and Dani couldn’t help but feel intrigued. 

And at the same time, she wasn’t sure if she was capable of doing what he wanted. Human personality was a complex thing and a small spark of fear sparkled in Dani’s heart at the thought of what he could do to her if she failed at planting the human seed into him. What if one day he decided all of it’s nothing but a bunch of nonsense, turned against Dani and she would be completely alone, with no one there to help. 

But watching the Terminator feel the rough bark of the trees under his fingers, examine a ragged pinecone and following the trail of ants lined by a fallen tree, the worry went away. He was that careful to not step on a tiny bug. He wouldn’t hurt her either.


	4. Chapter 4

During the following day, they managed to break through the foresty area that turned out to be less dense than Dani previously thought and enter a nearby town. Dani didn’t recognize this place but she could make a good guess it was probably one of the neighbor towns near Mexico. It seemed like a compact, miniature version of the city. Colorful one and two-story houses lined up along pebbled streets. Marketplace, pubs, clubs, schools, and banks were all there, just smaller, as if the town separated itself from the major city, longing some independence. It wasn’t as bustling and polluted as Mexico, but definitely still lively with lots going on. Men, women, children and even battered street cats hurried every direction like ants.

Dani slowly walked, dragging her feet and breathing the air that had whiffs of freshly baked bread, exhaust gases, lilies, and peonies. The summer was at its peak and the heat seemed to cover Dani from head to foot like a spacesuit. The sun was right above them and beamed down, dust particles raised from people’s shoes, whirling around in sweltering steam.

The curious girl was so caught up in the new place she had just discovered that she almost forgot why did she come here in the first place – her companion. Even though Rev-9 effortlessly followed every step Dani took and never let her out of his sight once, she saw that the Terminator’s reaction to things he hasn’t seen before was very much like hers. Sometimes his head turned to follow something that had attracted his attention. 

Machine’s lovely nose frowned at the sight of a dirty, ragged homeless man who was laying in a puddle of liquid, probably his own urine. Rev-9’s eyes lighted up when he saw delicately made souvenirs that craftsmen sold after every few meters and a colorful playground, swarming with children.

” We need a place to stay. Can’t sleep on the street, ” Dani said, just as she noticed a motel across the street. ” Do you have any money? ” 

He didn’t. However, in the next few seconds, before Dani could begin to think about what to do now, Rev-9 seemingly had already found a solution to this issue. Next to the grocery store, under a curved roof there stood a lonely ATM machine, so silverly and bright it looked like a piece of art. The Terminator walked up to it and his fingertips lightly brushed against the keypad. A machine against a machine. Moments later, hundreds of dollar bills started to pour out of the cash dispenser.

Dani’s eyes widened in shock and surprise. Startled, she hastily shoved the money into her pockets, while throwing wary glances around to make sure no one witnessed this dirty trick. It was more than definitely illegal and Dani already expected to hear police sirens, hunting for them. The amount of money they got in less than ten seconds could probably feed Dani and her family for a year. If only they still lived.

” Stop! Enough! ” Dani exclaimed, shushing her voice as much as she could to not attract the attention of those around them. Nobody seemed to look their direction, people were busy with their own business. ” Can you hack into anything? ”

” Anything that has a computer in it, ” Rev-9 answered, leaving the ATM machine and adjusting his voice to Dani’s level of a whisper. 

Dani sighed and tossed aside her long, dark hair that acted as a blanket, unbearably heating her neck. During hot summers, hair like hers was nothing but a nuisance. Many times had she wanted to cut them but never really committed to it. Under the T-shirt, big droplets of sweat rolled down her back. The day was way too hot for her liking and she wanted to get into shadow as fast as possible. The girl looked at the Terminator who was still wearing the long-sleeved border patrol uniform with dark patches under his arms. 

” Aren’t you hot in all that? ” 

” No. My thermoregulation keeps my body at an even temperature at all times, as excessive heat might damage my CPU. Besides, I’m not really wearing anything. The clothes are nothing but a part of the polyalloy. ” 

A repugnant smell of cigarette smoke and cheap alcohol hit Dani in the face as soon as they walked into the motel and immediately she realized this might not the best place for living. However, there wasn’t a lot of other choices due to the town being so small. The wrinkle in Rev-9’s forehead obviously signified that he was thinking the same and was receiving a lot more detailed analysis through his sharp scanners. 

The motel looked run-down and somber. Daylight barely made it through the dirty, greasy windows, giving Dani the shadow she wished for but the surrounding mood almost pushed her to prefer the sunny day outside. The trash can clearly hadn't been emptied for weeks, it was overfilled with trash lying on the floor around it. Walls had holes punched through them and the few armchairs had cloth ripped off them as if there were frequent fights going on in this place.

” Good choice, ” Rev-9 commented, walking behind her and glimpsing all over the place. Only a total fool wouldn’t hear the evident sarcasm in his voice. 

Dani squeezed her lips to remain silent at his sneery remark but changed her mind at the realization that this situation could serve as another lesson to be put into the Terminator’s head.

” Remember – places like this one don’t attract good people. It’s just that there are no other options unless you want to stay in a two-bedroom apartment with a nosy, elderly woman and five cats as neighbors. Here we’re gonna have our own room at least but we probably won’t meet people you could look up to. ”

The motel seemed to be totally silent like a cemetery and, when they walked up to the scratched reception counter, nobody appeared even when Dani rang the small bell for service calls. Only several minutes later, the door of the room behind the counter opened with a loud squeak and an overweight, middle-aged man came out. He looked as if he had either been just awoken from a deep sleep or was under the influence of some kind of substances. The man stood in the doorway for a while, squinting his eyes, when he noticed the two figures waiting for the service. He mumbled something under his breath and slowly lumbered towards the counter.

” How can I help you? ” the man babbled, confirming Dani’s suspicion about his sobriety. A waft of his breath flew into the girl’s face, almost making her puke. The booze, garlic, and weed all mixed together in his mouth. 

” We’d like a room, please, ” Dani quickly said, trying to hold her breath to avoid inhaling the man’s exhale. 

” A room for you, miss? ” his reddened, foggy eyes traveled to Rev-9 and looked the robot up and down, ” and who would you be, sir? ” 

Rev-9 stayed quiet and expressionless, his keen, intelligent gaze lingered on the man before he looked down at Dani as if asking her for an answer. Really, who was he? An unstoppable killer sent here from the future. The murderer of her family. A result of metal and artificial intelligence combined, a creation of some cruel, twisted minds of those eager to destroy lives for political power. He wanted to be more than that and Dani had promised to help him.

” It’s…it’s my husband, ” Dani blurted out, without thinking much about what she just said. 

” Sure, sure, ” the worker murmured while rummaging for something under the counter and eventually pulling out two crumpled pieces of paper. He straightened them out before sliding the paper towards the guests. ” You’ll have to fill in the forms before I can give you the keys. Call me when you’re finished. ” 

After giving them pens, the man turned and walked back into the room, dragging his feet heavily. Worried that he might fall asleep again and forget about them, Dani started writing the necessary information. The lighting wasn’t good at all and from time to time the girl had to bend closer to the paper to see what she’s writing.

” Husband? ” Rev-9 asked, amusement and sheer interest tangling in his tone. 

Dani shook her head, attempting not to give the statement she made too much of attention. However, when she actually thought about it, the hair stood up on the back of her neck. This was literally the silliest thing she could have said but how else was she supposed to introduce him? ” This is a robot called a Terminator that was sent from the future to kill me so that I don’t become the leader of the Resistance and destroy Legion”? Even the drunk man would sober up instantly at an announcement like this and call the loony bin straight away. 

Was her subconsciousness sneaking ideas into her mind that she secretly desired? Sure, Dani wouldn’t mind having a husband that attractive and smart. If only he was a squishy human with a beating heart instead of being made of metal and CPU where the brain should be. And not having killed her family, that also would be nice.

” Pay no attention. That was the first thing that came into my mind. ” 

” And since when is your name Rebecca? ” the Terminator pointed to the name field of Dani’s form that had something else written in it than Daniella. 

” You don’t want to give your real name to shabby places like this one. It’s not safe. ”

Dani knew very well it wasn’t the reason. She wrote the motel’s fill-in form a name other than her own because that would make it harder to find her. Grace’s augmented abilities might reach further than Dani knew and if she had the tiniest clue that Dani might be alive, she’ll be looking for her. They all will. They could be thinking Dani might be hiding and check through all the possible hotels, hostels, and motels. The girl wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen so she lied about her name.

But why though? Grace, Sarah, and Carl was her salvation from Rev-9, yet Dani was denying them the chance to rescue her. Deliberately. 

Glancing over to the Terminator’s side, Dani noticed that he’s hesitating at the field which said ” First name.” Surely he couldn’t write Rev-9 as his first name. That wasn’t even a name. That was simply the way his model was called. A human needed a human name. 

” Gabriel, ” she said, putting her finger at the empty field. Dani felt as if she was baptizing him. ” That’s going to be your name from now on. ” 

” Why Gabriel? ” 

” Why? Because I like this name! You’re obviously unable to name yourself, so I’ll name you instead. Don’t ask stupid questions! ”

The girl heard him chuckle silently as he wrote what he was told. He found her irritation funny and for some reason, it didn’t make Dani as angry as it should. She rang the bell again to let the man know they were done and it took another five minutes for the intoxicated employee to stomp out and give them the keys of their room. As they turned to walk upstairs, Dani looked over her shoulder to see the man watch them heading toward their room. She wasn’t a celebrity but something in his look made Dani paranoid that he knows her and will let everyone know that she’s here. That’s how worried she was about the appearance of Grace and the rest. The girl felt like a rabbit that chooses to stay with a tiger rather than ask humans to save it.


	5. Chapter 5

The room, surprisingly, wasn’t as dirty as the motel itself and could even be called sanitary. The AC had cooled the room to the point where goosebumps spread all over Dani’s skin and the air was stale with a weird smell in it. The girl opened the window to let both freshness and warmth from outside into the room. 

Rev-9 slowly walked around, stopping and lingering at everything on his way, examining and investigating. The room was poorly furnished with a low ceiling and corresponded to the definition of the word ”motel” as closely as possible. There was a small wardrobe, a writing desk, and a cheap color TV. A narrow, repulsively multi-colored armchair faced a nightstand that supported a lamp with a shade that had several cigarette-burnt holes in it. And a bed – there was only one bed. 

The employee downstairs probably assumed that it wouldn’t make sense to offer a married couple a room with two beds. Dani shuddered and cursed the damn drunk man. Was it that difficult to ask what would they prefer? She couldn’t imagine laying in the same bed with…Gabriel. He didn’t need sleep but even he won’t spend the whole time standing up.

” You’re tired, ” he said, casually and mechanically, as if to point out some kind of inconvenience.

Dani was seriously getting overwhelmed with the enormous amount of knowledge of human anatomy in him. A normal man could make a conclusion about Dani being tired because they had been walking for hours. Rev-9 was doing it differently. He recognized physical signs of feelings, unmistakably distinguishing one bodily condition from another with a precision that would make all the doctors in the world green with envy. 

Dani knew he needed this information to kill efficiently. A Terminator couldn’t possibly be a Terminator if he didn’t know which part of the human brain should be pierced to make the vital organ to instantly shut down forever and the angle in which chest cavity must be crushed to fatally smash the heart and not leave the victim the slightest chance of surviving. 

Dani carefully sat on the edge of the bed, unsure about the tidiness of the sheets. Places like this one might not change the bedwear after every visitor. 

” Have you started to glitch? ” she replied mockingly, wanting to counter the taunts that had left his mouth. ” There’s more going on with me than just weariness. I’m also hungry, in a bad mood, dirty and my feet hurt. And I don’t know which one of these things I want to deal with first. Missed that, didn’t you? ” 

Leaning against the wall with arms crossed on his chest, Rev-9 suddenly smiled, taking Dani aback. So far she had only seen him smirking or portraying distant parodies of smiling. Dani didn’t even think he was able to smile at all, his stone-like facial expression that never changed whether he was walking, talking, or fighting with her friends, was the only emotion he had shown. At the same time, she assumed he must be able to do it in order to blend in with humans. What she saw now, was something completely different. His eyes, his lips, and his being all smiled at once. It lighted up his face, making him seem so alive, so real, so…human. 

Dani felt as if the sun had shined directly into his small, gloomy motel room. The Terminator, this robot had the most beautiful smile Dani had ever seen. 

" Humans have so many needs. It's almost better to be a machine. "

Surprised, Dani tried her best to not watch him too intently and forced herself to lower her gaze, which wasn’t easy to do and her facial expression might have betrayed her anyway. But hell, she wasn’t going to tell Rev-9 she thought he was gorgeous when smiling. For a moment, the girl was left speechless and in bewilderment, decided that the best thing to do now would be to remove herself from his presence. At least for a while.

” I’m going to take a shower, ” she muttered, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her T-shirt. ” As I said – I’m dirty. Later we're going to go out. ”

Rev-9 shrugged, not changing his posture one little bit, he could probably stay as still as a statue for as long as necessary. His smile faded away and the features returned to those of an expressionless machine that couldn’t care less for anything other than his mission. For a split second, Dani thought she could see the red, robotic gleam in his dark eyes. He was so inconsistent as if somebody inside him was playing with a remote and flipping TV channels. 

” Can you turn around? ” 

” For what? ”

Dani gave him annoyed leer through the bottom of her eyelashes. ” Because I’m going to take my clothes off. I need some privacy! ”

Rev-9 raised his eyebrows in ”whatever” expression and did as told. The Terminator was too intelligent to know that turning his back at Dani posed zero threats to him. There was absolutely nothing she could do to hurt him. She was just a human. 

Dani undressed quickly, throwing glances at him every few seconds, and hurried into the shower. She wasn’t sure why, after all, he wasn’t a human male who would get pervertedly excited about having a naked female in front of him. He couldn’t possibly be interested in people’s bodies…could he? The only way to know for sure would be to ask and she wasn’t going to present the Terminator with such a question. Even though she was certain he would answer and without lies.

Soon after, they walked back on the streets into the sweltering sun that Dani would now choose over the stuffy air in the motel. Her hair, still wet from showering, was drying quickly under the scorching rays and skin had already begun to darken, Dani silently pleading she wouldn’t get painfully sunburnt. Normally the girl has no problems with it but this day was on fire, almost literally. The climate felt tropical and Dani wished to have some cooling device be installed into her like the creature next to her did. He appeared to have no troubles whatsoever. 

On the corner of the nearest street, there was a small department store with wide posters about discounts on clothing stuck to its large windows. Dani looked back at Rev-9, whose attention was caught by a little boy and his dog playing under the sprays of a fountain. 

” Come on! We need to find you some other clothes, otherwise, you kinda attract attention to yourself dressed like that. ” 

” How about getting you some shoes first? ” the answer came immediately. ” Who attracts attention more – someone dressed in uniform or someone who walks around barefoot is a disputable question. ” 

Dani got cranky as she looked down at her feet that had just been washed but now looked like she had just walked through a pile of mud. Never before did she think walking barefoot makes your feet so dirty in just a couple of steps and the soles of her feet were burning from walking on the asphalt that the blazing sun had heated red-hot to touch. She knew she couldn't take it much longer.

” It’s summer. Nothing unusual to walk without shoes, for your information, ” Dani mumbled to save face. Even though it was very hot, no one was walking barefoot.

Inside the department store, AC was working its head off to keep the hot air out of the walls of the store. The store was almost empty, a few tired employees refilled the shelves and cleaned up the mess left by customers. The clothing section was just right – not too small to not have any choice and not too big to get lost and be unable to choose. Dani picked a light gray T-shirt and denim jeans that she thought might suit the Terminator’s height and built. He wasn’t a beefy mountain of muscles like Carl but the deadly strength that resided within his average-built, nicely featured body could blow them all to hell and further. 

” Try these on, ” she said, sliding the pieces of clothing on the cloth rack to his side. ” This should fit you. ”

Rev-9 raised his hand and touched the garments. Almost instantly, the given clothes started to materialize on him instead of the border patrol uniform. Inch by inch, the moss-green fabric disappeared as if it was alive, revealing his arms.

" No! Don’t do that! ” Dani grabbed his sleeve that vanished from under her fingers like magic. The Terminator stopped with half old and half new garments on him and looked at her with a mute question. ” That’s not how people wear clothes. Go and actually put them on instead of copying them or whatever is it that you’re doing. ”

However, in changing rooms Dani almost regretted her teaching, as it made her doubt her principles and honestly, her whole sanity as well. Spending time next to Rev-9, the girl never forgot who he really was. She swore that even if he became the best, kindest, most compassionate, and friendliest person ever, loved by everyone, she would always remember he was the one who destroyed her life in a matter of seconds. Her father and her brother both lost their lives from his hands. 

Dani had a good heart and she knew that if he truly proved himself to be someone who sees value in human life, she might forgive him one day for what he’s done. But forgiving and forgetting were two different things. And he was sent here to terminate her, therefore she could never fully trust him. Even if he was somewhere an autonomous being with a mind of its own, he came with a mission. And, from what Dani knew, it was highly unlikely for a Terminator to abandon his mission.

Despite all that, when the fake clothes started to dissolve like a sugar cube in hot coffee, Dani had to fight herself to ignore the view that revealed in front of her eyes. The girl stood outside the changing room and through a tiny opening between in the curtain secretly watched the body of a nude male model in the mirror on the wall.

” He’s not a man. He’s not even human, ” in her mind Dani reminded herself over and over again. ” He killed your family. Hell, it doesn’t matter what he looks like! ”

But no matter how rational she tried to be, the logical reasoning didn’t help to bring back the despise she felt for him. The girl’s eyes kept glancing into the mirror, trying to steal glimpses of Rev-9’s body and Dani’s heart pounded in her ears as her gaze slid over the Terminator’s flawless, evenly tanned skin. Protrusions of his fine clavicles framed the small hollow at the base of his throat. He was like a sculpture carved by the most professional craftsman and Dani felt a wave of heat swelling in her chest. Why on earth did Legion have to make their Terminators look like this?

Dani looked up again and for a split second their looks met in the mirror. A spark of disapproval fluttered somewhere in his midnight black eyes. Startled that she had been caught, Dani hastily turned away from the changing room to avoid the temptation more easily. Before averting her eyes, she managed to see the clothes that now covered Rev-9’s body, a stone of disappointment sinking into her stomach. ” Bad Dani, ” the girl scolded herself, ” you’ll go to bed without dinner! ” 

The Terminator came out of the changing room and slowly turned around for Dani. ” Will this be better? ” 

The girl breathed deeply to calm her feverish nerves and nodded. She stepped closer to him and reached out to feel the clothing as if to make sure he actually put it on. Yes, the garments were real, not made of metal, and fit him perfectly. Gliding along the edge of the sleeve of the T-shirt, Dani’s fingers lightly brushed against Rev-9’s upper arm. It was meant to be unintentional, she was just trying to see if the clothes were genuine. Yet it was intentional. She wanted to know what his skin felt like and the touch was cut short by Rev-9 moving aside. His jawline appeared to tense up. 

” It’s fine. You want to behave like humans, so forget about the cloth copying thing. Humans don’t do that. ” Her voice was trembling. If she could hear it, then certainly so could he. 

” They’re not able to, ” the Terminator responded, a delicate shadow of the smile he displayed in motel room crept across his face.

Feeling like a zombie, Dani found shoes for herself in less than ten minutes. Rev-9 got involved in the process, commenting about this shoe being uncomfortable because of the high heel and that shoe being poorly made with low-quality stitching and not meant for walking long distances. Dani took his advice, even though she never asked for them, and ended up choosing a pair of simple sneakers. 

A knot of anxiety tightened in the pit of her stomach. Had he really noticed her watching him dressing? Most likely. What was he thinking of her now – that she’s some kind of a shameless peeping Tom? And why in God’s name did his thoughts matter to her? 

Dani felt as if she’s betraying her late brother and father. They died because of this thing and nonetheless Dani was getting her head full of totally inappropriate thoughts. She was throwing her team's worries about her in the garbage. Now, when she was thinking of Rev-9, she didn’t feel fear or hatred anymore like she used to when she was still with Grace and others. That was unacceptable but there was nothing she could do about it.


	6. Chapter 6

The temperature dropped dramatically when the evening fell over the small town. In the afternoon people were wearing as little clothes as possible but when the clock hit 8 pm, the thinly dressed ones envied those who had jackets tucked into their bags. Sun sank behind the horizon and the darkening sky resembled a sheet of paper that had been soaked in watercolors – blue, violet, yellow, orange, red – and in the middle of all this colorful mess behind transparent clouds, there was a faint silhouette of a ghostly, perfectly round arch - a full moon. 

Long, pitch-black shadows, cast by the setting sun, lurked through the streets and up the walls, creeping into people’s houses through windows. Street lamps lighted one by one like fireflies in night grass. Sellers closed their shops, the marketplace stocked all the goods back into boxes and police officers started to patrol the nightly streets.

But that didn’t mean the town had gone to sleep. On the contrary. Places that were mostly closed during the day, came to life and people who had been waiting for them, appeared in the streets. Loud voices, filled with all the possible curse words in both English and Spanish, yelled from one street to another. A couple of prostitutes walked out of hideouts and took their location near street corners in the hope that someone might feel lonely tonight and would be willing to pay for a company. Sounds of breaking glass echoed in every direction.

A small, crowded pub was squeezed between a greasy grill bar and a closed newspaper booth. The inside interior consisted of exposed brick walls with many small, antique paintings all over them. A fireplace was one of the main decors, yet it and the pile of wood next to it was just decor, standing black and empty. That was a sad but sensible decision made by the owners, considering the fact that drunk people and flames could be a serious safety hazard. Wooden tables were riddled with bottles, glasses, and ashtrays. Music was blaring from the speakers near the ceiling. This place sold mostly alcohol, alongside with some small snacks, however, one could forget about having a full meal.

Dani and Rev-9 sat in the corner at the very back of the room. It was a cozy, yet very narrow place and there was no choice but to sit so closely each to other, that their thighs and shoulders were constantly pressed together. Dani, who had been starving almost the entire day, was nibbling on small chili cheese cups, washing them down with sparkling water. The girl breathed the air that was heavy from cigarette smoke and spirituous respirations. Of all the people in this pub, she might have been the only one not drinking alcohol.

Alright, maybe except one more being that was sitting so close to her that through their clothing Dani could feel the warmth of his body against hers. That’s so strange, the girl thought to herself. Being made out of metal, he should feel cold but he was at such a human-like temperature it was almost pleasant. On the table in front of Rev-9, there was a cup and the coffee inside it had gone cold already a long time ago. He never touched it. Instead, he was watching, learning, observing. Nothing seemed to escape his look, the dark eyes wandered over the pub, the intoxicated companies at the tables, the bartenders flipping bottles behind a counter.

The Terminator’s right arm rested on the scratched table, the other one on his thigh. In order not to think about how could a robot be created so perfectly, so indistinguishably from humans, Dani pushed her plate his direction. 

” Pretend to eat, at least. Don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself. ”

Rev-9’s head bent slightly and in the artificial light of the lamps above their heads, his long lashes cast shadows over his cheeks. He moved a bit, took the last cheese cup in his long fingers and before Dani’s astonished eyes, threw it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. Nothing robotic about it at all. 

” What is it? ” he asked solemnly, noticing the girl’s wide-open, incredulous eyes. ” I can eat. Serves as a fuel for my power cells. ”

Dani nervously locked hands in her lap. He was much more human-like than she had permitted herself to think. A memory of Grace’s words about Rev-9 being ” the most lethal Terminator ever created ” surfaced in Dani’s mind. You don’t fight it, you run from it. 

” Do you possess anything else from human abilities? ”

” Wrong question,” Rev-9 answered, placing the empty plate at the edge of the table, signaling for the waiter to come and take it. ” Just ask. Don’t beat around the bush when you mean something specific. ” 

” What? ”

” What we both know you want to ask me. And look at me. It’s impolite to avoid eye contact when talking to someone. ”

Slowly, Dani lifted her head to meet the Terminator’s eyes. His gaze was intense, intimidating and challenging. Dani’s physical reaction was mighty strong. The girl’s heart thudded violently against her ribcage like the wings of a bird, trapped in a cage. Her knuckles resembled white marble balls – the result of her tightly clutched hands – and she was about to bite her lip enough to taste blood. Rev-9 was frightening yet there was something irresistibly hypnotic in his eyes and Dani just couldn’t look away.

The girl regretted ever opening her mouth because now he was waiting for an answer and wasn’t gonna let it go. Even though she understood well what was it he was hinting at, Dani didn’t want him to know she has had as much as a momentary bit of thought about his…abilities. 

” I truly don’t know what you mean. ” 

The corners of his lips curled up as Rev-9 leaned towards her and Dani realized she didn’t know when did it happen that she stopped pulling away when the distance between them diminished. Her nerves buzzed with electricity, blood filled her cheeks to the point where they were burning and only when she started to feel lightheaded, the girl realized she had been holding her breath. Rev-9 carefully studied her face. 

” Yes, I can have sex, ” the answer on the question Dani had toyed within her head came out of his lips so easily as if he was talking about the weather.

Dani felt as if she was slapped across the face. A heatwave of shame and uncomfortableness washed over her from head to toe, as she tried to understand how was he able to guess what’s going on inside her mind with such an extraordinary accuracy. 

” That wasn’t what I… ” 

” That was exactly what you wanted to know, ” he interrupted excuses Dani was about to present. ” I don’t like to be lied to. Don’t do it again. ”

For a while, they sat in silence. The pub had gotten busier than when they arrived. Hiding from the cool summer night outside, people filled every free place left. The majority of them were drunk, living in their own worlds, where they could be whatever they wanted, the sun was brighter and the grass greener. Running her eyes over the crowd, Dani had an instant, intuitive feeling she might see a familiar face but the sea of dull, misty eyes, dozens of bottles dancing in the air and the orchestra of incoherent voices reminded the girl that she no longer existed. Those who knew her were either dead themselves or considered her dead. 

Near the bar, two men were propped up against the counter. They probably weren’t homeless, even though the untidy, scruffy appearance was quite good indicators of the low quality of their lives. They hadn’t shaved for at least a couple of weeks, bushy, ungroomed beards grew wildly on their faces. Both were dressed in old, mended clothes with dirty patches on the elbow and knee area and no one could answer the question of where did they get enough money to get so drunk. First, they were talking among themselves that lead to some kind of disagreement and elevated tones. One of the men pushed the other one, who staggered back and knocked over a bar stool.

” Why do people drink like that? ” the Terminator, who had been observing the same duo as Dani, suddenly asked. ” Alcohol clouds one’s judgement, changes their personality. ” 

” That’s precisely why most people drink, ” happy that they had moved away from the previous, awkward topic, Dani swiftly replied, ” some are unable to relax and enjoy partying while sober. Liquor makes them open up, become friendlier, more talkative. Some drink to forget. ”

” Forget what?” 

” Their problems, their worries. Their pain. Alcohol can ease all of that and people choose the consolation of it, even if it’s temporary. ”

One of the drunkards at the bar counter looked at them and babbled something to his companion who turned his head and started to reel towards the back of the room, towards the table they were sitting at. He swayed like treetops in wind with every step and seeing him approaching made Dani tense up. The girl sensed the man wasn’t coming to them to say hello. He seemed to be looking for trouble and if so, the poor soul had chosen totally wrong recipient. Dani was scared for the man.

The drunkard stopped less than a few feet away from their table. With him being this close, Dani was hit by the most repulsive body odor she had ever smelled. Urine, alcohol, sweat and unwashed body all mixed together in one unbearable stench. Dani’s nose burned and the girl turned away to suppress her gag reflex, otherwise, the cheese cups she had eaten might appear on the table again. She noticed the man eying her hungrily that made her feel even sicker than his stinky persona. Then he turned to the person next to her.

” Dude, ” the man addressed Rev-9, slurring his speech to the point where it was difficult to make out individual words. His own tongue was his biggest obstacle. ” Why are you staring at us all the time? What the fuck’s your problem? ”

The Terminator didn’t answer. His unblinking eyes squinted a little and pierced into the drunkard like knives. He was fearless, in fact, he didn't know what fear was. He was the one who was feared, not the other way round. Dani wished she could telepathically scream at the man to get away and as soon as possible. As drunk and unpleasant as he was, Dani didn’t want him to die right here, in this lousy place, without seeing his loved ones or even being at his right mind. The man had no idea who was he talking to. The being whose observant eyes had irritated him could end his life as easy as blowing out a candle.

” Are you deaf or mute or just fucking stupid, huh? If you have problems, get your ass up and let’s solve them like men! I bet I could fuck you up. Eh?” 

This provocative phrase was left without any attention and the man looked at Dani one more time. ” Oh, fuck you then. If you’re sitting like a goddamn vegetable all the time, then this beauty must be very bored with you and will enjoy the company of a real man. Surely you don’t mind. ”

In aversion, the girl moved closer to the wall but the drunkard’s hand, reaching for Dani, was intercepted halfway by a grasp that made the man gasp and wince. A grimace of pain pulled at his face and Dani spun around like a top. Rev-9 had leaned forward, with his left arm in front of Dani, blocking the man’s access to her. His iron grip wrung the boozer's palm. 

” I do mind, ” the Terminator rapped out hatefully.

” Jesus, man, chill out!” the poor drunkard breathed, all his invasive tone gone, while desperately trying to free his hand. ” What the fuck’s with that, have you been taking steroids or what? ”

Rev-9 was motionless, his fingers almost cutting off the blood supply in boozer’s hand. His handsome face was grim, the expressive, stiff jawline implied clenched teeth, eyes flashing with scornfulness and anger, much like lightning on a pitch-black night.

Back at the bar counter, the man’s friend was stretching his neck, trying to see what was happening with his buddy and whether or not he should come to help. Dani begged he didn’t. These two weren’t the only ones Rev-9 could put at rest. He could turn this whole place into a cemetery in less than five minutes and Dani surely didn’t want to see that happening in front of her eyes. She tenderly put her hand on Terminator’s stretched arm that had the drunkard jerking at the end of it. 

” Gabriel, remember what I said about being human. The very first thing. ” She lowered her voice so that she could be heard only by him.

” I remember, ” he answered, voice not matching his outer appearance at all. 

The Terminator’s fingers stiffed. The drunk man abruptly stopped fighting and let out an agonizing howl. Dani’s heart dropped into her stomach and she could swear she heard a crack of breaking bones. 

” What the hell! Let me g… ” 

The man’s bewailing shrieking was cut short by a loud thump of his body hitting the floor. Rev-9 let go of his hand and the man, unable to fight the inertia, just couldn’t stay upright. Crawling on his hands and knees, cradling his wounded hand, the boozer scuffled away from their table towards his friend whose eyes went wide as he saw his injured companion. Many other pub visitors turned their heads to look at what had happened. Fortunately, the whole incident happened in a relatively short period of time and due to the number of people in the pub, no one noticed specifically them.

” Did you break his hand? ” Dani asked, looking around in hopes that the man wouldn't be insane enough to return for revenge. 

” No. Just a slight sprain. He’ll be fine. ”

Dani sighed with the relief of the absence of the potential bloodbath and shivered at the realization she was immensely grateful Rev-9 was here tonight and cared enough to stand up for her, whatever might have been his reasons behind it. Pubs weren’t the best places for young women like her and this incident could have ended a lot differently if she had been alone. The girl gulped down the remaining sparkling water in the bottle and looked at Rev-9. He was sitting, lightly slouched and, as if nothing had happened, went back to his people-watching activity. Dani was thankful, yet she was unable to thank him aloud. Not yet.


	7. Chapter 7

The nights that followed a day that wears you out to the point where you can hardly stand normally brought a deep, dreamless sleep. But that night, however, Dani was tormented by series of unnerving, terrifying dreams. Possibly they were induced by the eerie incident at the pub or it might have been the girl’s own subconsciousness that emerged to condemn Dani for starting to see death as salvation, much less considering it as an equal and safe. Under the dusty duvet, she tossed and turned restlessly, without realizing she wasn’t alone in the bed.

She dreamed about standing alone in a vast meadow. Beneath her feet, seasons changed at an abnormal speed. One minute, she was walking through a thick, freshly green grass and the next one her toes were freezing, as she waded into heaps of snow up to her knees. The next moment the ground was wet, muddy with dozens of dying leaves that stuck to her feet, which was followed by a loose, light brown soil that was dotted with pure-white heads of snowdrops that grew in the shade of sunny, yellow crocus flowers. But when Dani bent down to smell the firstborn spring buds, the stench was rotten and loathsome. The beautiful flowers smelt like death.

In front of her, there was a familiar figure. It was Diego, who first stood with his back at Dani and turned when the girl said his name. Seeing his warm, brown eyes, kind smile and shaggy hair, Dani immediately threw herself into her brother’s arms. Holding him tight, she praised heaven for giving him back to her before Diego’s body all of a sudden went limp in her embraces. His head lifelessly fell on Dani’s shoulder, glassy eyes stared without seeing and his arms fell off sister’s shoulders like limbs of a torn rag doll. A small stream of blood flowed down his chin and Dani saw a jet-black tentacle piercing Diego’s body through his back.

Dani woke up for a split second and half-consciously stirred in the bed, her head lolling on the flat pillow. Inside it, the filling had crumbled to dust under the heads of so many. Before sinking back into sleep, Dani heard herself whimpering softly.

As soon as her eyes closed, a new image unfolded around her. Dani was back at her father’s house. The girl unmistakably recognized the modest, yet so cozy rooms that she had shared with her father and brother. The old-fashioned clock was ticking loudly at the wall and Dani walked past the kitchen table that had stained, lace tablecloth over it. Behind the corner, she was faced with a decaying, zombified corpse of her father. The blood-soaked version of what her father used to be, wheezing and growling in cadaverous voice with black, empty sockets for eyes, lunged at Dani. 

Screaming, the girl yanked back and dashed in the opposite direction but, as it happens in dreams, she couldn’t run fast enough. The house suddenly got endless and no matter where she turned, there was nothing else in front of her but more and more hallways with no door whatsoever. Behind her back, Dani heard the ghastly panting getting closer and closer…

Dani curled up in embryo position, being sure she had been caught by the evil parody of the man she used to admire. Then, awareness lied heavily on top of the dream, crushing it to pieces and her eyelids snapped open. Cold chills were running down her spine and as soon as she opened her eyes, Dani felt burning hot tears flowing down her cheeks. Something was shaking her shoulder.

Trembling, she timidly turned her head, scared to find her dead father or fatally impaled brother hovering over her shoulder, ready to pounce. They weren’t there, of course. They had stayed in the world that was only available when asleep and the border of which Dani had crossed when she was awakened. The pressure on her shoulder let go when the girl moved and out of the corner of her eye, Dani saw Rev-9, who was half-lying in the bed beside her. He was at the distance of a stretched arm, which allowed him to drag Dani out of sleep without making her too uncomfortable.

” You were screaming, ” the Terminator said, sounding restrained and somewhat apathetic, ” bad dreams? ”

Dani wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. The girl couldn’t believe how much had she cried. Everything was wet – her face, the pillowcase under her cheek and lots of the salty liquid had piled up at the corners of her mouth. 

” They’re called nightmares. ”

” I know what they’re called. I want to know why you’re having them.”

“ No idea. I can’t control my dreams. ” 

Through her eyelashes, that still had droplets of tears in them, Dani watched the darkness. A big, silvery full moon shone through the closed curtains and washed the motel room in pale blue light. Everything looked different at night, the shadows twisted and deformed the ordinary shapes and made the simplest, totally non-threatening things look like gigantic spiders, monsters or tall, black figures lurking in the corners of the room. The time could be between midnight and 3 am, the outside sounds of the rare traffic poured into the room through the opened window crack. Dani sobbed, thinking about how none of the beings invading her dreams or haunting this room could match with the danger that was lying in the bed beside her.

” Why are you crying? ” the machine’s voice came again from behind her and Dani convinced herself she had heard wrongly because there was a tone in his voice that could pass for a concern. 

” I really don’t think it bothers you. ” 

” I wouldn’t ask if it didn’t. ”

Dani felt completely alone and abandoned. Whenever she had nightmares as a child, someone always came to comfort her, hold her and simply forcing her to speak about the most insignificant things till her heartbeat went back to normal and she was able to clearly see for herself that it was nothing but a bad dream, a fruit of brain activity that could never come true in real life. Up until recently, Dani couldn’t have imagined that sometimes dreams do come true in the real world. Only this time it had happened the other way round. The real event came first, then came the dream. Dani was scared to close her eyes again and sleep was gone anyway.

She turned to the other side and nestled up to Rev-9’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around his elbow, clutching it to her chest as a grim replacement of a teddy bear. After the intense fright, Dani needed some kind of soothing, even if it came from the worst possible source available. She felt his arm stiffening a bit but he didn’t move or try to free himself of her grip.

” What was it you dreamed about? Terminators? That small group of people who were supposed to protect you? Your family? ”

” I can’t believe you’re asking me about my family. ”

” Why wouldn’t I? ”

Dani felt stinging tears welling into eyes again. Right now she just wanted to lie in silence for a moment and put the images out of her mind. 

” Do you really not understand it hurts me to talk about them with their murderer? ”

 _But aren’t you the one snuggling up to their murderer,_ a betraying voice of conscience whined at the back of her head. _Shut up,_ Dani hissed at the annoying little critter, _no one asked for your opinion._ Rev-9 didn’t answer and considering his almost human-like personality and the fact that the questions asked him rarely stayed without responses, Dani could only guess what was going on inside his head. She almost suspected she had managed to strike at a soft spot, previously hidden under all the layers of metal.

” You said you only kill those who get in the way with your mission, didn’t you? ” Dani asked, hardly lifting her head to see his profile nodding in an affirmative gesture. ” Then why did you kill my father? How did he cross your way? ”

The question was burning. Grace had briefly explained the reasons behind Dani’s father’s death, but so soon after her life had turned upside down, the girl couldn’t comprehend the essence of all the losses. After leaving for work that morning, she had lost her whole family in less than an hour. 

” I’m an infiltration unit. I needed his appearance and I require…. ” 

” I know you require physical contact to copy someone. But why not shake his hand or give him a high-five? Why did you need his life? ”

Rev-9 snickered. " A high five? Maybe a kiss on a cheek? " 

In the dark, it sounded menacing and was likely the most robotic thing he had done recently. That was not a human laugh and seemed to come out of the depths of his mechanical self. The girl felt her insides turning to ice. 

” You think I was made by fools or what? I’m supposed to run a program of comparability of risks and benefits before every action I perform. The probability of success must always be greater than the risk. In this case, the possibility of the real person showing up and blowing the cover is not something to gamble with. Also...the more noise associated with you, the bigger the chance you’d get picked up by police. ” 

Dani silently listened to the deadly instruction installed into the Terminator and wondered who could be so cruel to program him to slaughter totally innocent people as if they were stacked to shield her. Everyone who had even the most indirect connection with the target was threatened. It didn’t matter who would have opened the door for him. Instead of Dani’s father, it could have been her brother. Her 5-year old cousin. Her elderly grandmother. Her wheelchair-bound neighbor. They all would have met the same fate – just because they knew Dani.

” What did you do to my dad? ” 

She asked, not being sure if she actually wanted to hear the answer. The fact of the death of her father was excruciating enough and Dani knew that finding out the gruesome details of his final moments would be something she could never unsee. Just like she couldn’t get rid of the picture of dying Diego in the car before it exploded. But it was too late. She had already asked. 

” He didn’t suffer, if it makes you feel any better. ”

Dani asked no more and deep inside, felt thankful that he had spared her the report of her loved one dying. The girl remembered that Sarah once said Terminators are bad liars due to their design or programming. However, it seemed that nothing she had heard about them could be applied to Rev-9. He was designed to be the perfect infiltrator and could do anything the situation requested. Despite that, Dani believed this time he was telling the truth. He had no need to torture her father.

” What it’s like to sleep? ” Rev-9 asked as if he had just remembered something that Dani had hindered by interviewing him. ” To dream? ”

Dani thought it over. It was something so simple, yet complicated when you had to describe the experience to someone who has never felt it. First, she wanted to compare sleep with peace, forgetting about your troubles for a few hours. If she was asked this question just a few days ago, Dani would have answered that sleep is a quiet and gentle experience that instantly refreshes your brain and body. Now she was too destroyed for epithets like that. This ability was torn from her like old skin, leaving her raw. Sleep was nothing more but an anatomically natural bodily condition.

” To you, it might be equal to taking your CPU out. It’s simply a loss of consciousness. You don’t see, hear or feel anything unless the external effect is strong enough to wake you. Dreams can be good and they can be bad. Sometimes they’re just weird and don’t make any sense at all. People you know, the characters of the books you have read or the movies you have watched, events from your past can all be present in a dream. ”

Rev-9 was listening without saying a word and Dani wished she knew how was he interpreting the information she gave him. Whenever Dani heard a description of an activity she had never done, she knew she could always try it for herself and find out if she agreed with the person about it being good or bad. Rev-9 was very smart and as similar to human as a Terminator could possibly get but there were things he would never be able to experience himself. Dani perfectly understood why – sleeping would put a Terminator in a vulnerable position and who needed that – definitely not Legion.

His dark eyes sparkled when the moonlight and shadows held hands to dance around his face. He was staring deep into the blackness in the room, always alert, always watching. With his arm still at her chest, Dani felt like the nights here, in this town, are darker and more desolate than anywhere else in the world. A streetlight next to the window of their room flickered a couple of times and went out, sending another wave of darkness into the room washing over their bed. 

” Sleep,” he whispered, so softly that Dani had to prick up her ears to hear him, ” it’s very early. ” 

She closed her eyes once more, yet the feeling of them being the only two beings into this nighty ocean of lightlessness didn’t leave her even in sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The moment Dani’s eyes opened in the morning, she could barely remember the monsters haunting her dreams last night. As the girl watched the golden gleam of morning sun creeping through the filthy fabric of curtains, Dani wished for an eternal daytime. Ever since the Terminator arrived for her, nights hadn’t been more than a prelude of horror, making her terrified to close her eyes. The warm rays of sun banished all the devils that only lied in wait when there was darkness and filled the motel room with positivity and good morning vibes. 

Dani turned on her back and found the space in the bed next to her empty. She had no idea how and when did he pull his arm out of her grasp in a way that didn’t wake her. The girl remembered that today they had to pay for another day if they wished to stay and rolled out of bed, hoping he wouldn’t have left anywhere without her.

After a quick shower, starving Dani ran downstairs in hopes to find Rev-9 or a café. Either one was fine and suddenly she realized she didn’t want to leave Rev-9 unsupervised. Sure, it wasn’t like he needed supervision, especially human supervision. He knew very well himself how to behave and when it was inappropriate and disadvantageous to make a scene, whose throats to slash and who to spare. Nonetheless, Dani felt responsible for him as a teacher would feel regarding her pupil. She wanted to see with her own eyes what was he doing and how was he using the knowledge he gained. It was necessary for the peace of her mind. 

In the lobby, Dani found the Terminator sitting in one of the shredded armchairs. Like before, the motel was completely silent, as if they were the only guests in this murky place. In his right hand, he had a crumpled magazine that was probably at least a few months old. The pages were flicked through so quickly Rev-9 was likely scanning it instead of reading properly. No one could read that fast.

Dani walked up to him, looking for money in the back pocket of her jeans. ” Did you pay for the room? ”

He nodded without lifting his eyes from the magazine. In the upside-down picture, Dani saw the face of some politician she didn’t know the name for. 

” Why didn’t you come back to the room then? ”

Rev-9 looked up at her, as straight-faced as someone could possibly get. ” For what? Humans are highly boring when they’re asleep. ”

Dani suppressed the sudden desire to reach out and ruffle his hair. Even though in some imperceptible moment her fear of him had ceased, she still didn’t feel competent enough to predict his reactions. So far the Terminator had shown a sullen tolerance to physical contact. Rev-9 wasn’t pushing her away when she happened to touch him and he wasn’t bluntly ordering her to stop, yet Dani noticed he’d rather she not do it. And at this point, it was almost painful awareness. 

In her pocket, the girl squeezed her hand into a fist, nails digging into palms, her fingertips throbbing with the burning need to glide through the strands of his hair. It was unbearable to have to resist it. Dani’s heart quickened, sending gushes of blood to her cheeks. 

” Come, ” Dani asked swiftly. She had to remove herself from this situation and go to another place to clear her head before she did something she would regret later. ” I’m hungry. Let’s find someplace to eat. ” 

Like an obedient child, Rev-9 instantly put the magazine down and got up, following Dani. Even if he noticed something, he said nothing about it and Dani sighed. Because of his looks, it got harder every day for her to be around him and act indifferently. 

Right next to the motel there was a buffet-style café and by the looks of it was probably owned by the motel. The food, tableware, and furniture were all so greasy Dani started to have doubts about the possible health problems she could experience after eating here. She longed for the clean, wooden interior of the pub but that was too far away and Dani couldn’t walk that much of a distance with an empty stomach. The girl chose a cup of coffee along with beans and fried eggs, trying to forget the fact that the coffee machine looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for months. 

They chose a table next to the window and while Dani was struggling to stomach the overly-oily breakfast, Rev-9’s eyes were tied to the street outside. A group of workers was making concrete pavement stones for a new sidewalk, asphalt steaming in the sun behind them. The Terminator observed them work with the intensity of a small child concentrating on a cartoon movie. His unblinking gaze followed the lining of bricks, the movements of trowels and buckets, and the actions of workers, unsuspecting that behind the window someone is stalking their movements. 

Dani unawares stabbed the egg yolks with a fork, not feeling that hungry anymore. It wasn’t as much the fault of the hardly edible food in front of her as it was because of the being next to her. No matter what she tried to focus her thoughts on, the girl’s eyes kept returning to Rev-9’s face. Lately, Dani tended to constantly forget he wasn’t a human.

Perhaps it happened due to them being close to each other all the time. Maybe it was because of his impeccable human facade. Just a few days ago the concept of a murderous robot having a change in heart was ridiculous. But he was sparing her life, even if it was purely out of interest. He protected her when she needed it and was by her side when nightly terrors tore her heart in half. Dani felt like a fool as she was forced to admit to herself she felt safe with the thing whose whole existence was centered on her death.

” Tell me about the war that’s supposed to happen. How does it happen, why does it happen? What can we do to avoid it? I don’t know much about what I’m supposed to fight against. ” 

” You cannot expect to know anything. You haven’t lived through that future yet. Your half-human protector should have told you all of it or she’s useless. ” Rev-9 turned to face Dani. ” Considering how important you are, Resistance could definitely have found someone more capable for you. ” 

” Grace isn’t useless. ” 

Dani felt as if she had lived thousands of lives and this name came from one of them. Even though they parted just a few days ago, Dani already found herself struggling to remember the cyborg’s face. Grace had become something like a character in a book that was read ages ago and Dani could only recall the outline of the story she featured in, yet she felt the need to defend this name. Maybe some little things had slipped past her memory but Dani did remember one thing – Grace risked her life to protect her. Many times. 

Rev-9, however, had another opinion. Dani wondered if he had a certain reason to dislike Grace in the future that happened. Possibly Grace was the one who destroyed him or those who created him. He was implacable in his views. 

” When I saw her, I was sincerely surprised Resistance sent an Augment as if they didn’t know better. Would have made more sense to choose someone like me or even that old model that had your back. You know, someone who would actually be a match for me. ” 

” She is a match for you. Why wouldn’t she be? ”

Dani didn’t want to argue, nor did she want to talk about Grace but she craved for him to speak so that she would have an excuse to look at him, look into his eyes. She was listening, not just staring for no reason. Dani knew she should also pay attention in case the Terminator said something worth remembering, yet every now and then she realized she had missed a sentence or two. His voice simply flew past her ears while Dani was lost in the details of Rev-9’s face. Her look migrated from the arch of his brows to the opaque eyes with a gaze as sharp as a needle and perfectly symmetrical line of his nose, the rosy shade of his lips and chiseled jawline absorbing her attention next. 

” Tell me, what’s the point of asking something if you don’t listen to the answer? ”

The harsh, uncalled-for question caught Dani off-guard and she felt as if she had just fallen from a cloud. She blinked a couple of times, returning to reality. 

” I was listening. ” 

” No, you weren’t. With that dreamy look on your face, you were certainly thinking about something else. ”

” Alright, sorry. What did you say? ” Dani sighed, hopelessly trying to calm her racing heart. Thank God Terminators didn’t have the mind-reading ability built into them yet. 

” I said that Grace failed at everything. Since you’re asking me the questions about your future, she failed to provide you with essential information. Considering that you’re here with me now, she failed at her mission to keep you safe. The last one was surely seen coming. She’s just a human. ” 

” You failed at your mission too. You were supposed to kill me and I’m alive. ” 

A shadow glided over Rev-9’s face. He leaned closer to Dani, his eyes glinting threateningly. Slowly, he raised his hand and touched Dani’s chest an inch over the edge of the V neck cut of her T-shirt. Blood ran cold in her veins and shivers electrified through her bones as Dani watched his long, slender pointer finger transforming into a pointed, razor-sharp dagger. Her heart skipped a beat and frozen in her seat, Dani looked at him.

” I can fulfill my mission at any moment, ” the Terminator responded scornfully, the tip of the blade grazing Dani’s skin just enough to draw blood. A tiny, bright red droplet rolled down the girl’s chest and disappeared into her bra. ” It can all be over in just a second and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop me. So it’s really not into your best interest to make me angry. ”

Dani’s back slouched at the same moment Rev-9’s weapon turned back into an ordinary human finger. She trembled once or twice, yet wasn’t feeling real fear. The girl didn’t believe anymore he would harm her and even the small scar on her chest or the dot of blood that stained the T-shirt couldn’t change her mind. Mesmerized by his beauty, Dani blurted out stuff without thinking first. That put her in dangerous situations but also increased her judgment. So he didn’t like to be called a failure or his mission compared to one. Fair enough. She won’t do it again.

” Tell me about that war again. Why does it happen? ” 

” For the same very reason any war happens - power. Humans tried to destroy the sentient Legion that in turn tried to destroy them. Even though it was created by humanity, people got scared as it gained self-awareness. This conflict caused a massive war between Legion and humanity, the most destructive of all that the world has ever experienced. Billions killed in nuclear strikes, billions dead from famine, and the remaining few killing each other for the food leftovers. Those who miraculously survive all of it were hunted down and eliminated by Rev-7s and Rev-9s. ”

” And who wins in the end? Humans or machines? ” 

Rev-9 smiled faintly. ” Depends on whether you live or not. The rise of AI is inevitable and the war cannot be avoided but your existence is a crucial turning point. Humans win if you’re there to lead them against Legion. ”

” Why exactly me? ” 

Rev-9 shook his head, shrugging at the same time. ” Don’t ask me that. No idea why exactly you were born to be the leader of Resistance. That’s obviously determined by force higher than you and me. ” 

This was the first time Dani heard him say he doesn’t know something and that made him even more humane in Dani’s eyes. After all, Legion had no need for its Terminators to philosophize about God and the purpose of humans being on Earth. The program probably didn’t even know or care about such theories, in its electronic mind Legion was the commencement of the new world it was attempting to mold. And what Legion didn’t know, the Terminators created by it didn't either. The encyclopedia in Rev-9’s head had a few blank pages as well and Dani was going to write her own rules into them.

” And what about you? Which side will you take when the war begins? ” 

Rev-9 smiled wider than before, revealing white, perfectly aligned teeth. The expression was adorable, he looked like a little child trying to figure out an answer to a question who he wants to be when he grows up. 

” Me? That also depends on you. Show me that being a human is better than being a machine and I might rethink my priorities. ”

Dani felt as if the whole world had been tossed onto her shoulders. Too much depended on her. When she seriously thought about it, the image of one young girl being the savior of all humanity seemed absurd but if it wasn’t true neither Rev-9 nor Grace would have been sent to her. Dani understood that having Rev-9 on her side would be an immeasurable gain. His fighting for humans because he saw the meaning in human life would serve as a holy deed from Dani’s side. If she managed to change a hunter-killer’s point of view, she might actually be worthy as the leader of Resistance. 

And the girl couldn’t stop thinking what would Legion do right now if it heard Rev-9 speaking, rebelling against his own creator, considering the option of siding with humans. Would it turn him off or irreversibly impair his CPU? Would it liquidate its brainchild to prevent the human girl from putting more righteous ideas into Rev-9’s head? Would it remodel the Terminator using some advanced future tools and transform his consciousness to the point where Rev-9 wouldn’t obtain any free will at all and only blindly obeyed orders from his maker? 

Dani shuddered. Such a thought was worse than thinking about the war and all the lives it will take. Before she was ready to confess it to herself, Dani already knew she didn’t want anyone to take Rev-9 from her and make him into the brutal, ruthless killer he was supposed to be. In a way, she had started to consider him hers.


	9. Chapter 9

As the day went on, Dani started to doubt her teaching abilities. So far there was nothing too worthy she had managed to put into Rev-9’s head for him to process, analyze, and save into that massive wonder of engineering that was his memory. Nothing but a few insignificant things about clothing, eating, and not killing, and Dani wasn’t sure how seriously was he taking the latter. From time to time a chilling thought surfaced in Dani’s mind that what she’s promised to do is impossible. How in the hell can you make a human out of something that’s as artificial and unnatural as one can get?

” Why aren’t you asking me anything? ” Dani complained to the Terminator when she ran out of ideas for schooling him. 

” Give me something to ask about, ” he then replied, as imperturbable and composed as always.

Confused, Dani could think of nothing better than to follow a large group of people that eagerly walked somewhere from the bus stop near the motel. The crowd was made of mostly families, small kids’ voices rang like tiny silver bells as they laughed, dancing by their parents’ hands. The pigtails of little girls swayed in the light breeze that swarmed through the air. The people looked like they were going somewhere to have a good time. In that case, there might be no better place to introduce Rev-9 to emotions and happiness. 

Dani and Rev-9 were walking right behind a small boy. Dressed in T-shirt and shorts, he could be no more than seven or eight years old and seemed to have no adult with him. The strands of his fine, wheat blonde hair were falling over his forehead and he was bouncing a purple ball in front of him as he walked. His sneakers looked like there were a size or two too big for his feet. 

For a moment, the boy turned around and looked up. Two innocent, violet-blue eyes met with Dani’s. The boy was serious, almost distraught and Dani started to wonder if he was lost but the child turned away before she could ask anything. 

Rev-9 gazed down at the boy for what seemed like a half a second, however, Dani knew the Terminator had already saved the child’s face in his memory and would recognize the boy anywhere anytime now or fifty years from now.

And just as Dani started to think they had joined a group of tourists who didn’t even have a certain destination and just wandered around aimlessly, the whole long procession ended up in the town’s zoo. Today the tickets were half the price which was the main inviting reason for such a crowd. With the remaining money, Dani bought two, realizing that soon she’ll have no other choice but to ask Rev-9 to hack into an ATM machine again. 

Animal exhibitions started almost right behind the gate. Four frisky otters were playing with colorful flotation rings. Several coral flamingoes stared motionlessly at the visitors, balancing on one thin, match-like leg. Camels were walking around slowly and sluggishly, as if they had been just awakened from sleep, their humps flopping over like empty sacks of potatoes. Dani felt the smell of dung and hay coming from over the fence.

She led Rev-9 to the wooden railing of a small petting zoo that was squashed between all the exotic animals. Inside, sheep, goats, pigs, and their babies oinked, bleated, and stomped loudly.

” Humans and animals have a great bond that no one can really break once it’s formed. They’re our soulmates, helpers, and friends…also great judges of character so it wouldn’t be surprising if these guys didn’t want to do anything with you. They sense when someone is wicked. ” 

Dani remembered Carl’s dog that lay beside the former Terminator as if he was the best owner in the whole world. Towards someone who was worth it, animal love was unconditional and by familiarizing Rev-9 with farm creatures, Dani intended not only to give the Terminator a lesson of caring for those more fragile then himself but also to test him. If an animal didn’t like someone, that was usually a pretty good sign that the person was far for being kind-hearted. Dani would take it as a warning that Rev-9 was probably lying about his desire to be human.

A young lamb ran up to the fence, so small that it was most likely born only recently. Its short, pearl–white coat looked soaked in the dew of summer morning. The large, oval ears lay perpendicular to the head and above the small, rosy snout two dark, intelligent eyes darted everywhere. The clip-clop of the little sheep’s four hooves rapped loudly against the floor of the exhibit. The lamb propped its two front legs on the railing in order to look over at the two visitors in front of it, in hopes they brought something better than the hay.

Rev-9 glanced at Dani and slowly reached the for lamb. In her mind, Dani for a moment saw a horrible scenario. The Terminator’s hand transformed into a large, shiny blade and impaled the little sheep from head to tail in a wink. A fountain of crimson blood splattered from the open wounds as the lifeless lamb fell to the ground. From the manger, a grown sheep bleated in heartbreak, witnessing the murder of its child. The screams of other zoo visitors echoed all around. And above all of that Rev-9’s emotionless, merciless face. 

None of that happened. The Terminator softly stroked the lamb’s head, scratched its ears, and rubbed the button-like snout. The baby sheep bleated delightfully and didn’t seem to have any objections against the person behind the fence. The lamb pushed it’s tiny, curly head into Rev-9’s hand like a cat that’s asking for attention. 

Seeing the animal’s affection towards the Terminator, Dani calmed down a little. She didn’t want to think about the other outcome and what would she have done if animals avoided Rev-9. Dani gave him a light, affirmative smile and put her hand over the railing to feel the silky curls of the sheep’s coat herself.

But when the lamb noticed Dani’s hand reaching for it, it jumped aside quickly and observed the girl with a keen, wary gaze. No matter how lovingly Dani was calling, the baby sheep didn’t approach the fence again and eventually ran back to its mother, the small, white tail flipping behind it. 

” They sense when someone is wicked, huh? ” Rev-9 said, the corner of his lip raised in a sarcastic smirk. ” Obviously there’s more to you than I know. Animals don’t lie, do they? ” 

Irritated and speechless, Dani leaned back. The lamb probably didn’t like her scent or was overwhelmed by the many people around it. Surely it had to do with something else rather than Dani herself. Nonetheless, this lesson didn’t do as planned. She expected the animals to be scared of the Terminator, not her, and Rev-9 interpreted the situation in his own way. 

” Don’t be a smartass, ” Dani muttered, ” it's just distracted by all the visitors, that’s all. ”

Rev-9 didn’t answer, even though Dani could see the ” yeah right ” expression in his face. Dani was glad the animals didn’t mind his presence but in a way, her lesson had turned against her. No, it couldn’t be her fault. Surely, if she came up to the fence again, the lamb would definitely come up to her. Yet she didn’t want to try and fail in front of him again. 

As the day went on, the warm and pleasant morning sun turned into a sweltering beast, frying the town like on pan. People were buying water bottles and ice-creams more than anything else. Despite the great heat, children were running around in the zoo’s playground, swinging in the swings and sliding down the colorful slides. Women waved fans around their faces, trying to compensate for the non-existing wind. Babies were crying in their strollers, some parents had been crazy enough to take infants out in the weather this hot. 

Dani and Rev-9 were sitting on the bench under a big tree whose wide leaves gave shade from the burning rays. Dani was parched, going through the third bottle of water by now and sweating like mad. In days like this one, she would have given a lot to be a machine. Rev-9 was sitting next to her, totally needless. His temperature was regulated for him, he wasn’t thirsty and the sun had no effect on him. He required nothing.

” Look over there, ” Dani turned the Terminator’s attention towards a family that was sitting in the grass. ” That’s how happiness looks like. People who love each other. ” 

Rev-9 turned his head to look at the woman, man, and a child sitting on a blanket with a picnic basket in the middle. They were laughing and cuddling. The woman put her head on the man’s chest as he stroked her shoulders. Both of them were feeding they playful child whose satisfaction sometimes burst out in a high-pitch, joyful scream. 

” I highly doubt that’s the case, ” the Terminator responded seriously. 

” What do you mean? ” 

” I mean they’re not even close to happy. You only see the whole picture and don’t pay attention to the details. ” 

” Details? ” 

Rev-9 sounded as if he was the one teaching Dani, not the other way round. ” Look at the child. You don’t feel it but I can smell Cytarabine which is a common chemotherapy drug. Behind that headscarf the little girl is bald. She’s a cancer patient. ”

Dani glanced at the girl, probably no older than 5. The child was indeed very pale and if you looked at her closer, she wasn’t active all the time. After a brief moment of playing, the girl was resting, breathing heavily, as if she was greatly worn out. On her tiny arms, there were specks of bruises. 

” The woman next to her, ” Rev-9 continued, ” look at her pinpoint pupils. Doesn’t react to light either. Look at the fidgeting, she cannot sit still for a second. Her gaunt, famished frame and if she wasn’t wearing a jacket, we’d probably see needle marks on her arms. Likely an opioid addict. ” 

Dani stared at the pavement under her feet. A trail of ants decided to take a shortcut and crawl right over her toes. Dani shook them off, hit her foot against the leg of a bench, and swallowed a gasp. 

” And what about the man? ”

” Can’t you see it yourself? ”

Dani glimpsed at the father of the family. Nothing special about him, just an ordinary human male. She shook her head. Rev-9 sighed, sounding almost annoyed. 

” How blind humans are. The scars on his arms. A suicide attempt without a doubt, and a recent one because they’re not properly healed yet. Someone who’s tired of life with a drug addict wife and a child that’s probably not gonna make it. If that’s your definition of happiness, I have many questions then. ”

Suddenly, Dani felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t know how could she miss the long, red marks on the man’s arms, the woman’s shaky behavior, and the child that was barely hanging on to life. Only when the Terminator pointed it out, Dani was able to put all the signs together in one picture that sure as hell didn’t portray a happy family, even if you couldn’t tell it at first glance. 

” Get up, let’s walk somewhere else, ” Dani urged, not wanted to spend an extra minute on this bench anymore.

They strolled past giraffes, who sleepy-eyed chewed on leaves, their long necks almost reaching the ground. Monkeys were rampaging in their cages and zebras stomped the sandy ground, their black and white stripes flashing in sweat under the scorching sun. A polar bear was hiding from the heat in a pool, big enough for the animal to submerge its entire body, leaving only the head out. It didn’t react to the visitors at all. 

Eventually, they stopped at the enclosure of a tiger. The exhibit was decorated with huge, fallen trees, boulders, bushes, and pools. On the highest stone, a big Bengali tiger was sitting motionless, giving zero awareness to the visitors who knocked on the glass. The enclosure was surrounded by a high barrier that kept visitors safe. 

Dani still felt depressed from the family she witnessed and looked neither right of left. After all, what was there to look at. Of course, Rev-9 was next to her somewhere. Children were hitting the glass to make the tiger come closer or make some kind of movement. Parents told them to just look at the big kitty instead. Smears of chocolate-covered little hands stained the enclosure glass and left one to feel sorry for the maintenance workers who’ll have to clean the mess.

Out of nowhere, a loud, ear-piercing scream made blood go cold in Dani’s veins. 

A crowd of people had gathered by the glass of enclosure, their faces filled with terror. Some were yelling for the employees of the zoo to come immediately. Women had their children pressed to them with their backs at the enclosure as if they didn’t want them to see something. The visitors shouted one another down for help, their voices full of horror and shock. 

Behind all the people, Dani couldn’t see anything, but when she fought her way to the glass, she wished she had stayed in the background. Her curiosity had driven her to experience something gruesome, something you’d only expect to see in movies. 

Inside the enclosure, there was a child. Dani recognized the same small, blonde boy that walked in front of them on their way to the zoo. Under a green, leafy bush a purple ball was lying and the little boy ran towards it with small steps. 

” My God, did he jump into the enclosure just to get his ball? What a dumb kid! He’s dead now! They won’t be able to drive the tiger away in time! ” Voices of disapproval and panic mumbled all around Dani and she cried inside, begging for the employees to do something – tranquilize the tiger, distract or kill it if it meant saving the boy’s life.

The tiger reacted immediately. In the animal’s mind, the dinner was here. It jumped down from the cliff and trotted towards the boy who had managed to get his ball from under the bush. The visitors were banging on the glass, yelling at the boy to hide, to stay still, to not look the tiger in the eye. But the child either didn’t hear the calls or was simply too little to fully understand the danger he was facing. In his innocent perception, the kitty was coming to play with him. 

Dani’s heart thudded violently in her chest and she was about to cover her eyes to spare her the mauling of this child when another tall figure leaped into the enclosure.

People’s screams intensified and from under her eyelashes, Dani saw Rev-9. She never noticed him leaving her side and now he was inside the enclosure with the tiger and the boy. For a moment, Dani foolishly got scared for his life. How ridiculous. A thousand tigers couldn’t bring down a Terminator.

Rev-9 didn’t look at her. He looked at nobody. The tiger roared aggressively and jumped but Rev-9 was quicker. He grabbed the boy and clutched tightly to his chest, shielding the child from the attacking tiger. Dani’s eyes widened in surprise. Up until now, all Rev-9 did was talk about being human. Now he was proving in with deeds. 

The tiger darted at Rev-9 from the back. Dani winced as she saw the carnivore’s mouth open and two huge canine teeth ramming into Terminator’s shoulder, a bite that would crush human bones to dust. Rev-9’s T-shirt ripped in enormous holes but the tiger was unable to sink its teeth into his body whatsoever. The animal became agitated and dissatisfied, growling threateningly and trying again and again to pierce the skin of what it thought to be a piece of meat. The mightly claws worked up and down the Terminator’s arms with no blood showing.

With his right arm, Rev-9 was still holding the boy who had started to cry by now. His left elbow dashed back into the cat’s belly, a move that sent the tiger flying. The visitors behind the glass gasped in horror and awe when the animal landed between two boulders and stayed down for a while before slowly getting up. The tiger was dragging one of its hind legs behind it, signifying that the limb could be broken. 

The little boy hesitantly put his arms around Rev-9’s neck and seizing the child’s body with one arm, the Terminator used the boulders, trees, and other objects of the exhibition to jump out of the enclosure. That was not a human jump and anyone who failed to realize it was blind, Dani thought as she watched the precise, coordinated movements. He never slipped or lost his balance, easily overcoming heights that would be an impossible task for a human. That was something stunt men attempted while shooting a movie and only when they were attached to all kinds of safety measures.

Rev-9 left the little boy among the crowd that stuck to the crying, scared, but alive child like bees to honey. His dark eyes found Dani in a matter of few seconds and as he was walking towards her, the remains of his T-shirt hanged loosely on his body. ” I can’t believe it, ” Dani scolded herself that in a moment like this, she was still capable of paying attention to Rev-9’s enchanting physical features. The zoo’s employees finally arrived with a tranquilizer gun, a moment when it would be too late if it wasn’t for the Terminator. 

” Wow, ” Dani uttered when Rev-9 came up to her. ” Didn’t expect that from you, to be honest. ”

” I need a new shirt, ” he responded so casually as if he had just returned from a bathroom. 

Dani tried not to look too intrusively at the elegant pectoral muscles, dark brown nipples, and the perfect abs under the shreds of his T-shirt. There was no sign of where the tiger tried to bite him. The liquid metal was either impenetrable or regenerated instantly.

A nervous man, dressed in the zoo’s uniform ran up to them, his hands shaking as if he was the one in the tiger’s enclosure.

” Do you need an ambulance, sir? ” he addressed Rev-9 in a shrill voice. 

” I’m fine, thank you. ” 

” But sir, you were attacked! It was a heroic act indeed. Jesus, who could have thought that child might think of looking for his ball in the tiger’s enclosure!”

” I said I’m fine, ” Rev-9 answered, sounding like he wanted the man to get lost. ” But you might want to check on the tiger. Some of its teeth could be chipped. ”

Employee’s brows furrowed in confusion and he shrugged, not knowing what to do with such an answer. Certainly, he couldn’t know that in front of him there was a machine and required much, much more for it to be killed. Dani remembered what Grace said about cops – you put a hundred cops between you and a Terminator, you get a hundred dead cops. That poor, poor tiger. 

” Let’s go, hero, ” Dani pulled his palm, ” before you get in the news or something. ”

When they left the zoo and the gate, decorated in ornaments, stayed far behind, Dani slowed down her steps. Partly because of heat. Partly because she was worried that someone might have filmed Rev-9’s stunt and posted in on Internet where Grace could come upon it. And partly because she was taking in what just happened. Dani set her mind on a question that was burning within her from the moment she saw Rev-9 in the enclosure. 

” Why? ” 

” Isn’t that what you repeated me all the time for the last couple of days? To be the best version of myself? ” 

” Yes, but today I never told you to act. I didn’t ask you to save that kid. What made you do it? ” 

Rev-9 looked thoughtful as if he was considering the right words for the answer. ” I thought it was right. I was the only one who could rescue that child. I couldn’t simply stand and pretend I don’t see it. ”

Dani walked beside him quietly, listening to the noise of the town. She felt astonished and for the first time teaching Rev-9 didn’t seem like a senseless task. Could it really be that he was more than just a mimetic polyalloy over a metal endoskeleton? Could Legion actually have left gaps in his AI for it to be filled with human-like feelings? Not many people would have done what he did for a stranger, even if it was a child. Most people were cowardly but Rev-9 knew no such emotion. And when the fearlessness of a machine combined with whatever reflection of a conscience he might have, it resulted in quite a decent being.


End file.
